If Masai Ujiri isn’t the most interesting man in the NBA, he is certainly the most mysterious. Everytime you think you know what he is going to do with the Toronto Raptors, he does the opposite. And that's exactly what happened at the NBA trade deadline.
The Raptors entered Thursday's deadline with a disappointing 26-30 record while sitting in 10th place in a top-heavy Eastern Conference. They have talented players, but the on-court fit hasn’t looked clean all season, and they've been worse than the sum of their parts.
In what was thought to be a seller's market, the Raptors were the belle of the ball, and it was expected that they would trade at least one of their expiring or soon-to-be expiring contracts in Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr.