The Toronto Raptors seem poised for another run to challenge the Cleveland Cavaliers but they did suffer one big loss in the offseason.
While Toronto validated itself as an NBA city on the rise when DeMar DeRozan shunned all the "hometown" talk and sent a strong message to the NBA when he did not even entertain any proposals and signed a near-max deal to continue contending in the East.
However, they did lose Bismack Biyombo who provided their defensive presence in the paint that allowed them to reach the Eastern Conference Finals and challenge LeBron James and the Cavs.
Fortunately for them, a possible replacement still remains on the trading block. The Philadelphia 76ers are slowly losing options on their attempt to trade their two centers, Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel. Zach Lowe of ESPN already reported on their initial talks.
"Toronto has already approached Philly about a deal sending out a rotation player -- perhaps Terrence Ross, and other goodies -- in exchange for Nerlens Noel, who could then assume Biyombo's backup center role, according to league sources. The talks haven't gained much traction yet," Lowe mentioned.
While the Raptors eventually acquired Jakob Poeltl as their reserve center in the 2016 NBA Draft, he still does not fill the mold of a rim protector. The Raptors are on the mandate to win now with Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan in the fold. They were two games short of the NBA Finals and if they can properly fill in the shoes that Bismack Biyombo left, they can easily return.
On the other hand the Philadelphia 76ers would benefit if they were to flip one of their centers into a scoring guard, someone like Terrence Ross who was a former ward of Sixers GM Bryan Colangelo.
This trade almost happened in draft night but it fell through because the Sixers wanted the Raptors to add a first round pick. The Raptors eventually examined other options (drafting Poeltl) but now that the Sixers may be taking a different negotiation point than they did during draft night, the trade proposal may be revisited.
Colangelo has admitted that a trade is necessary and if the Raptors still offer Ross, that might be a good offer to accept.