The Raptors might be looking to get into the first round. Idk. I’m not Masai. BUT IF THEY COULD! This is how they might do it:

This obviously depends on these trade partners. Brooklyn would have to explore the idea of moving on from Claxton AND be looking for a talent upgrade somewhere else. To the extent that they might give up a first.

The raps send RJ Barrett to the Nets. Moving into the first round would probably coincide with trying to get cheaper overall. This means taking on expiring contracts for RJ. Gabe Vincent and Maxi Kleber would be the least impactful loss to the Lakers, but the Lakers probably don’t want to be a tax team. Offloading Rui instead of Kleber would solve this bc he’s more expensive. This depends on whether they want to keep Rui long-term. They just traded for DFS, so I imagine they’d have to make a tough decision.

The Raps would also get Brooklyn’s #26 pick in this trade. I would shoot for #19 but I imagine Brooklyn doesn’t go for that. #26 in and of itself might be a big ask anyway so I elected to be conservative.

The nets get RJ as a meaningful young talent add to their wing/guard room. They would also receive 2025 seconds from the Raptors and Lakers, respectively. They would need to be okay with RJ and two seconds for this whole thing to work. They might like RJ as a young piece to survive a Cam Johnson trade and support any young players they draft this year and beyond.

The Lakers get Nic Claxton. The lakers have been feening for a center for months. It’s a little annoying, BUT they get a near perfect archetype to pair with Luka long-term. They lose two expiring contracts including a meaningful producer in Hachimura as well as their second round pick this year.

Lmk what y’all think. Go raps!!