The Toronto Raptors have added another member of what’s expected to be Canada’s most talented Olympic team in decades.
Hours ahead of the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline, Toronto has traded for Kelly Olynyk, who was the captain of Canada’s Mens National Team that brought home the country’s first-ever medal (Bronze) in FIBA World Cup tournament play this past year.
The Raptors are also acquiring Ochai Agbaji, who was the Cavaliers’ first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft (sent to Utah in the Donovan Mitchell deal) in the trade, sending a first-round pick, Otto Porter Jr., and Kira Lewis (who was acquired in the Pascal Siakam trade) to Utah.
Earlier this season, the Raptors traded for fellow Canadian RJ Barrett in the OG Anunoby, which was the first in-season trade of the 2023-24 NBA campaign.
Canada’s Mens National Team has qualified for a total of nine Summer Olympics Games throughout its history with the most recent coming in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Syndey (finished 7th).
The country has only earned an Olympic medal once (Silver in 1936), though the country is scheduled to compete in the 2024 games in Paris with Olynyk, Barrett, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Dillon Brooks among the NBA players expected to participate.
Details of Raptors’ Latest Trade
Toronto Raptors receive:
Utah Jazz receive:
- Kira Lewis
- Otto Porter Jr.
- 2024 First-Round Pick*
The 2024 first-rounder will be the least favorable of the Thunder/Clippers/Rockets/Jazz selections, meaning it’s likely to fall in the back end of the first round.
Stay tuned for FortyEightMinutes for more Olympics coverage, the most notable news from the NBA trade deadline, and pop-up Super Bowl coverage.
