NAUGHTY OR NICE: Christmas gifts each of the Raptors could use

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This Christmas season we offer gift ideas for the struggling Raptors. As we head into a new year full of new hopes, here are some things each Raptor could really use:

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SCOTTIE BARNES

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Barnes is now the face of the franchise, the player the Raptors will build around moving forward. To that end, it’s long past time they surround the budding star with more complementary teammates. As impressive as what Barnes is doing in Year 3 (20.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals, with a three-point percentage of 38%, compared to 28% last year), imagine how much more dangerous he could be. If the Raptors actually surrounded Barnes with three (or even four) quality shooters, there’s a chance he could become one of the 10 best players in the league.

PASCAL SIAKAM

Siakam is one of the greatest Raptors of all time and is the franchise’s top success story, having been nabbed at the end of the first round as a non-shooting project and becoming the No. 2 scorer on the championship team. But what he needs most this Christmas is clarity. It’s time for the Raptors to either sign him to a long-term extension, or find him a new home. The best things for both sides is probably Option B. Let the Raptors get desperately needed draft picks and young assets to set up the Barnes-led future, and let Siakam embrace his inner Chris Bosh and become an excellent second or third piece on a contender.

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OG ANUNOBY

All Anunoby needs is a run of good health. He hasn’t played over 70 games since his rookie season (74) and has consistently missed 15-30 games a year. That’s way too much, even if many of the injuries have been of the freak variety. Anunoby is going to get a massive raise this summer, probably from the Raptors, but you never know, maybe they pivot and deal him first or maybe he goes the Fred VanVleet route and signs elsewhere. Either way, if he can stay in the lineup for most of the next three months, his likely new deal probably will be worth even more.

GARY TRENT JR.

Santa’s best gift for Trent would be a starting role. He’s been far better as a first unit option since being acquired from Portland and his shooting is badly needed. Toronto’s been loathe to try something different, even though the starters have been poor, despite all of their talent, but Trent deserves a shot. He also needs a bigger role to earn himself more money when he too becomes a free agent after the season.

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DENNIS SCHRODER

Patience if he’s moved to the bench. Schroder’s best role over his long NBA career has been as a backup point guard/bench spark plug. He’s had a good season, but is being asked to do too much. A hot stretch shooting the ball early on has juiced his numbers, but there have been too many struggles to fit with the other starters. The Trent/Schroder flip makes way too much sense not to at least be tried, and Schroder, coming off a fantastic summer that saw him named FIBA World Cup MVP after Germany won the tournament, needs to accept what some will see as a demotion for the good of the team.

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JAKOB POELTL

A jolt of confidence. Poeltl hasn’t looked like the same player as last year, when he was quite good after being reacquired by the Raptors. He hasn’t looked close to the guy who excelled for San Antonio either. The fit hasn’t been great with Schroder or with what the team is asking from him. He isn’t a threat to shoot the ball at all and Siakam is really struggling from outside. Add in Schroder’s inconsistency shooting and it’s easy to see why things aren’t working. Perhaps with Trent’s floor spacing Poeltl would look better. That said, Poeltl really struggled with Trent and the other three current starters last season and only was at his best with VanVleet on the floor. The other option is letting him play more with Malachi Flynn, who is more of a pick-and-roll point guard than Schroder.

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CHRIS BOUCHER

All Boucher needs is more minutes and a more consistent role. He’s been one of the few bright spots so far this season, yet is constantly the last Raptor called on by Darko Rajakovic and sometimes not at all. That’s despite the energy, rebounding and shooting he provides. The team clearly wants to bring along the much younger Precious Achiuwa, even though Boucher has been much stronger. If Toronto is going to retool, shipping Boucher to a team that needs him also makes sense.

PRECIOUS ACHIUWA

Achiuwa has all the physical tools in the world. What he needs is the gift of better decision-making. He would be well-served in trying to simplify his game more. Less forcing of the issue, a bit less aggression and more letting things come to him. There’s a top bench player in there somewhere if he can put it all together, maybe even a starter.

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MALACHI FLYNN

More time on the floor with the team’s best players. Generally, good things have happened when Flynn has been called on alongside a combination of three of Barnes, Siakam, Anunoby or Trent. The team’s net rating has been way better than other permutations when that’s happened. Maybe Flynn for Schroder and not Trent for Schroder is worth a whirl, given the statistical evidence (though the sample size isn’t huge). Why not try him with Poeltl, something that has only happened for 76 minutes all season?

GRADEY DICK

Belief. Dick was billed as the best shooter in the draft for a reason. He’s been a marksman since high school and was one of the best freshmen to ever play for Kansas, one of the top NCAA programs. Dick just turned 20 and nobody expected him to be an impact player right away, but this has been a slooooow start, with his best asset, his shot, not showing. He just needs to believe in his natural skills and his past body of work. Let them fly when given a chance.

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OTTO PORTER JR.

A bionic toe. The toe issue that cost him most of last season has already played havoc with this one too. Porter hasn’t been able to play both ends of back-to-backs, has had to miss many games and can’t really be counted on. That needs to change because he’s been quite helpful when he’s actually been on the court. He just needs his toe to cooperate and let him become a regular.

CHRISTIAN KOLOKO

This present is easy: Koloko needs clearance to resume his career. He’s been out due to a respiratory ailment and not a lot of light has been shed on his medical condition, for obvious reasons. Koloko is able to work out with the team. It would be great if he could be allowed to play because he showed promise last year and projects as a part of the team’s future plans. Hopefully he can play soon.

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DARKO RAJAKOVIC

Rajakovic would benefit from his bosses laying out a runway of where the franchise wants to go. Are the Raptors rebuilding or trying hard to make the play-in? Is it something in between? Whatever it is, either deal Siakam (and maybe more) and commit to the Barnes Project, or assert that this group is staying together and aims to fight for the play-in and beyond. Right now management isn’t making it easy on the rookie head coach.

MASAI UJIRI

Take action The goodwill of being the second-winningest franchise over the last decade-plus, along with the championship, is starting to fade. The longer they go without making a big move, with losing key assets for little to nothing, with dealing away draft picks for middling returns, the worse off the Raptors will be. It’s long past time for Ujiri and his staff to get things back on track. Drafting Barnes was a master stroke but nothing else has paid off. Too much talent has walked out the door in recent years and there’s been way too much dithering, resulting in the value of the team’s players declining. All with ticket prices rising by as much as 10% for some season ticket holders. It’s hard to imagine the fanbase will remain engaged if management continues to hold onto all of its cards indefinitely.

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