Trail Blazers Pursuing Trade For Raptors’ OG Anunoby

It seems as if the Trail Blazers aren’t finished.

After agreeing to trade that will land Jerami Grant from the Pistons, the Blazers are pursuing a deal for Raptors forward OG Anunoby, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

Portland is armed with the No. 7 overall pick and has reportedly made it available for some time. Per Haynes, that pick would be part of the offer for Anunoby.

All of that said, it is not known if Toronto is actually looking to move Anonuby — though as we’ve relayed via Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, he is considered “a name to watch” on the trade front.

Either way, it’s fairly evident that new GM Joe Cronin is sticking to his plan of retooling around Damian Lillard and getting the Blazers back into the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Raptors may be on the lookout for a starting center and may feel comfortable dealing Anunoby after the rise of Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes. Rival executives believe Anunoby may have experienced some discontent with his role, Fischer noted.

Mostly, though, it’s become evident that Toronto has been exploring ways to land a talented low-post player for some time. Again, Anunoby may be the best path to making that happen.

“The Raptors initially chased Jarrett Allen last summer. Then in February, Toronto flirted with Indiana about both Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis and contacted San Antonio about Jakob Poeltl,” Fischer wrote. “Landing a center of that caliber would almost certainly require the Raptors to sacrifice one of those purportedly untouchable players.”

Anunoby, 24, is 6-foot-7 and coming off a season in which he averaged a career-high 17.q points and 5.5 rebounds, but was limited to just 48 regular-season games. He has spent all five of his NBA seasons in Toronto.

He has two years left on his contract, as well as a $19.9 million player option for the 2024-25 season.