Why The Toronto Raptors Do The Deal 

Why not? The Raptors have no leverage here anyway. 

That’s how sign-and-trades tend to go. The Suns could clear cap elsewhere and sign VanVleet outright. All that’s happening here is that they’re cutting out the middleman. 

With that in mind, the Raptors would do better to receive this package than walk away empty-handed. Paul could be a valuable mentor for this relatively young group. His positive impact could be seen for years to come. 

NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Fred VanVleet, Toronto Raptors & Phoenix Suns Updates

Meanwhile, second-round picks have some value. We saw that at this year’s deadline. You can package enough of them to land a solid rotation player at the deadline. 

After all, you might not be able to find that guy in free agency anymore.