Having previously kick-started the NBA’s trade season early beginning in late December, the Raptors kept at it on deadline day.
Olynyk, who will turn 33 in April, has long been coveted by the Raptors, who would retain his Bird Rights when he hits unrestricted free agency this summer.
He was born in Toronto before moving to Kamloops, B.C., and both of his parents worked for the Raptors at some point — his father Ken as an assistant coach, his mother Arlene as a scorekeeper.
Olynyk captained Canada’s bronze medal-winning side at last summer’s FIBA World Cup and is close with Raptors swingman RJ Barrett.
Agbaji, who turns 24 in April, played at Kansas before becoming a lottery pick, like Raptors prospect Gradey Dick. He has flashed a lot of defensive prowess, has good shooting form and has connected from the corners at a high rate in the NBA, but not from elsewhere beyond the arc.
Agbaji has lots of work to do as a ball-handler and creator, but the shooting guard fits the mold of a potential “3-and-D” player. He led Kansas to the NCAA title and was named Final Four MVP as a senior.
Porter, a free-agent signing before last season, has been out of Darko Rajakovic’s plans for some time and was going to hit free agency again. Lewis was acquired in the Siakam deal and is now on the move again.
Toronto somewhat surprisingly did not move coveted swingman Bruce Brown and also held on to Gary Trent Jr. and Chris Boucher.
The team can pick up a player option on Brown for next season and either keep him or trade him. Raptors general manager discussed Brown’s situation shortly after the deadline passed at the team’s practice facility.
Trent will become an unrestricted free agent, but Toronto has his Bird Rights, while the remaining year on Boucher’s contract made him tough to move as teams adjust to punitive changes to the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
“On the surface, Gary is 25 years old and a 40% three-point shooter, right? So you can start there,” Webster said. “I think he probably would even admit he didn’t get off to as good of a start as he would have wanted to, but he’s kind of settled in now and we’re seeing it.
The Raptors will continue evaluating the rest of the way as they go mostly young, with Olynyk, Brown, Garrett Temple and Boucher bringing their veteran presence to the developing group.
