The Jazz and Blazers are two of the teams with interest in trading for OG Anunoby this offseason.
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, Anunoby may be open to a trade, as his role in Toronto has changed over the past year.
Following a standout season from Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, word has circulated among rival front offices that Anunoby grew dissatisfied at times with his role in Toronto, where Barnes joined Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet as the primary ball-handlers in Nick Nurse’s offense.
Two sources with knowledge of the dynamic told B/R that Anunoby has not directly expressed discontent with his situation with the Raptors. Perhaps the conversation around him has been driven more by external interest in acquiring the fifth-year forward’s services.
Toronto has been on the market for a center since Marc Gasol left the franchise and both Utah and Portland have strong options to dangle in trades.
Publicly, Rudy Gobert and Jazz are both saying things that indicate that he’ll be back, though the rumors of the center playing elsewhere continue to circulate. For the Blazers, Jusuf Nurkic is a free agent and it’s possible that a sign-and-trade to the Raptors could work if there’s interest among all parties.
Fischer also added more detail on Toronto’s past pursuit of a big man, including trade talks with the Pacers and Spurs.
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. Landing a center of that caliber would almost certainly require the Raptors to sacrifice one of those purportedly untouchable players.
