Should Nikola Mirotic be a Trade Target for the Raptors?

Should Nikola Mirotic be a Trade Target for the Raptors?

Nikola Mirotic has been having been having a career year and could help the Raptors with shooting from distance.

Nikola Mirotic has been having been having a career year and could help the Raptors with shooting from distance.

Nikola Mirotic has been having been having a career year since returning from a broken face. I guess he can thank Bobby Portis for that. Mirotic reportedly wants to be traded and the Bulls are open to moving him. Of course, that doesn’t mean the Bulls want to trade with the Raptors or that Mirotic wants to play for the Raptors and that second part is important.

The System

The Raptors attempt the 5th most threes in the NBA at 31.8 attempts per game. However, they rank in the bottom 5 in terms of three-point percentage by shooting 35.1% as a team. If the Raptors continue to want to play this way they could benefit from adding a three-point shooter. Is Nikola Mirotic that shooter?

Mirotic is shooting 45.7% from three this season in 20 games played. There is no way this will hold up from now until the end of the season. Last year Nikola only shot 34.2% from three with is actually quite poor for a three-point specialist. As a rookie, he shot even worse at only 31.6% from downtown. His only good shooting season over his four-year NBA career prior to this year was his second season where he shot 39% from three. If the Raptors were trading for Mirotic which Mirotic would they get?

Risk vs. Reward

There is a risk in trading. Sometimes a move looks good on paper, but then when you actually make the move it ruins the chemistry. For example, when the Raptors traded away Rudy Gay it looked like they would get worse on paper and go into tank mode. However, at the time Patrick Patterson, Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, and Chuck Hayes ended up making the team better despite none of them being as talented as Rudy Gay. Adding Nikola Mirotic probably wouldn’t hurt the success of the Raptors, but you never actually know until you pull the trigger.

Mirotic has an odd contract where he has a no-trade clause this year and a team option next year. I don’t think he has anything against the city of Toronto or the Raptors organization, but if Mirotic were on the Raptors he would likely see less playing time. Less playing time could do damage to his value in free agency. Now if the Raptors agreed to pick up the team option for next year he might be more inclined to waive his no-trade clause. However, if he doesn’t fit well with the Raptors they would be stuck paying him next year which would likely put them in the luxury tax. The Raptors dumped a pair of picks to move DeMarre Carroll’s contract in order to stay out of the luxury tax this season, so it’s hard to think they would want to go into the luxury tax unless they are paying a star. This is probably also why we heard Jonas Valanciunas trade rumors at the deadline last year and this last summer.

What Would the Raptors Give Up?

 photo jv niko_zpswam7qb48.png

Jonas Valanciunas has played well for the Raptors this season, but doesn’t really fit the fast pace the Raptors want to play. Also, they have plenty of guys that can absorb center minutes if Valanciunas were to be shipped out. Those guys would be Jakob Poeltl, Serge Ibaka, and Bebe. It’s unclear also if the Bulls would even want Valanciunas. Robin Lopez probably doesn’t fit into there long-term plans. Valanciunas is more talented and younger but would he fit with their team? Lauri Markkanen and Jonas Valanciunas would make an interesting pairing, but they might prefer to trade Mirotic for another player or draft pick. In which case the Raptors would be out of luck.

This current career year Nikola Mirotic would really help the Raptors offensively space the floor, but if his shooting fell off it could really hurt the Raptors. Neither Valanciunas or Mirotic are good defenders and it would be hard to say one is better than the other. The Raptors sometimes struggle on the glass and without Valanciunas so that weakness would only get amplified without him. There are very few role players on the trade market that would help the Raptors. It would be difficult to convince both the Bulls and Mirotic to be on board with the swap, but if they are game it's something that the Raptors should strongly consider doing purely from an offensive systematic fit.

Nikola Mirotic has been having been having a career year since returning from a broken face. I guess he can thank Bobby Portis for that. Mirotic reportedly wants to be traded and the Bulls are open to moving him. Of course, that doesn’t mean the Bulls want to trade with the Raptors or that Mirotic wants to play for the Raptors and that second part is important.

The System

The Raptors attempt the 5th most threes in the NBA at 31.8 attempts per game. However, they rank in the bottom 5 in terms of three-point percentage by shooting 35.1% as a team. If the Raptors continue to want to play this way they could benefit from adding a three-point shooter. Is Nikola Mirotic that shooter?

Mirotic is shooting 45.7% from three this season in 20 games played. There is no way this will hold up from now until the end of the season. Last year Nikola only shot 34.2% from three with is actually quite poor for a three-point specialist. As a rookie, he shot even worse at only 31.6% from downtown. His only good shooting season over his four-year NBA career prior to this year was his second season where he shot 39% from three. If the Raptors were trading for Mirotic which Mirotic would they get?

Risk vs. Reward

There is a risk in trading. Sometimes a move looks good on paper, but then when you actually make the move it ruins the chemistry. For example, when the Raptors traded away Rudy Gay it looked like they would get worse on paper and go into tank mode. However, at the time Patrick Patterson, Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, and Chuck Hayes ended up making the team better despite none of them being as talented as Rudy Gay. Adding Nikola Mirotic probably wouldn’t hurt the success of the Raptors, but you never actually know until you pull the trigger.

Mirotic has an odd contract where he has a no-trade clause this year and a team option next year. I don’t think he has anything against the city of Toronto or the Raptors organization, but if Mirotic were on the Raptors he would likely see less playing time. Less playing time could do damage to his value in free agency. Now if the Raptors agreed to pick up the team option for next year he might be more inclined to waive his no-trade clause. However, if he doesn’t fit well with the Raptors they would be stuck paying him next year which would likely put them in the luxury tax. The Raptors dumped a pair of picks to move DeMarre Carroll’s contract in order to stay out of the luxury tax this season, so it’s hard to think they would want to go into the luxury tax unless they are paying a star. This is probably also why we heard Jonas Valanciunas trade rumors at the deadline last year and this last summer.

What Would the Raptors Give Up?

 photo jv niko_zpswam7qb48.png

Jonas Valanciunas has played well for the Raptors this season, but doesn’t really fit the fast pace the Raptors want to play. Also, they have plenty of guys that can absorb center minutes if Valanciunas were to be shipped out. Those guys would be Jakob Poeltl, Serge Ibaka, and Bebe. It’s unclear also if the Bulls would even want Valanciunas. Robin Lopez probably doesn’t fit into there long-term plans. Valanciunas is more talented and younger but would he fit with their team? Lauri Markkanen and Jonas Valanciunas would make an interesting pairing, but they might prefer to trade Mirotic for another player or draft pick. In which case the Raptors would be out of luck.

This current career year Nikola Mirotic would really help the Raptors offensively space the floor, but if his shooting fell off it could really hurt the Raptors. Neither Valanciunas or Mirotic are good defenders and it would be hard to say one is better than the other. The Raptors sometimes struggle on the glass and without Valanciunas so that weakness would only get amplified without him. There are very few role players on the trade market that would help the Raptors. It would be difficult to convince both the Bulls and Mirotic to be on board with the swap, but if they are game it's something that the Raptors should strongly consider doing purely from an offensive systematic fit.

Premium Yahoo, ESPN & Fantrax Tools

Unlock our premium Yahoo, ESPN and Fantrax league tools with an active Patreon subscription for $2/mo and get access to the following tools using data from Yahoo, ESPN and Fantrax leagues:

  • Premium Schedule Grid
  • Waiver Wire Rankings
  • Draft Tracker
  • Matchup Planner
  • Trade Machine
  • Waiver Machine
  • League Scouting Report
  • Team Scouting Report
  • Beast Mode

Learn about our premium tools