Raptors willing to trade package that could involve RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Jakob Poeltl and No. 9 pick for Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant is expected to be traded before the 2025 NBA Draft, and league sources tell RG the Toronto Raptors are among the teams seriously evaluating a deal, despite not being on Durant’s preferred destination list. It’s a familiar dynamic for Toronto, which took a similar approach in 2018 by acquiring Kawhi Leonard and capitalizing on a one-year window to win an NBA championship. -via Responsible Gaming / June 17, 2025

To this point, league and team sources said, the Spurs, Rockets and Heat have not come forward with offers for Durant compelling enough to get the Suns to bite, which means they will continue to look at the market for a deal that suits them. As one rival executive put it, “Phoenix is trying to drum up better offers.” The Rockets and Suns have had meaningful discussions about a deal, team sources said. Houston has a firm offer on the table but Phoenix, to this point, has been seriously underwhelmed by it. The Spurs, league sources say, have been conservative in their pursuit of Durant. -via New York Times / June 17, 2025

The Phoenix Suns may be placing too high a value on Kevin Durant and might have to reduce their asking price in negotiating a trade, league sources inform The Arizona Republic. Durant remains one of the game’s best players, finishing sixth in the NBA in scoring at 26.6 points a game, but at age 36, he isn’t viewed as the same player who won finals MVP in back-to-back years with the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018. -via Arizona Republic / June 17, 2025

Will Toronto actually go beyond all the noise about their willingness to gamble on Durant without a long-term contract commitment to make a determined push for KD? Sources say that the Raptors would be willing to part with either RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley for a significant roster upgrade. Several league figures with knowledge of the Raptors’ thinking have likewise asserted that they could show a willingness to move center Jakob Poeltl as well … provided that the trade in question brought back Durant. The Raptors’ No. 9 pick is also increasingly viewed as perhaps the most likely top-10 pick in the draft to be traded. My sense is that Toronto would prefer to simply trade down rather than trade out of the first-round completely. Perhaps there is some swap potential in a deal with Phoenix and the Suns’ No. 29 overall selection. -via marcstein.substack.com / June 16, 2025

Sources say Barrett was indeed discussed with New Orleans during the Raptors’ trade conversations that ultimately landed Ingram from the Pelicans for Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk and one future first- and second-round pick. Between Barrett and veteran center Jakob Poeltl this summer, Toronto could get to nearly $50 million in outgoing salary relatively easily. -via marcstein.substack.com / June 7, 2025

Doug Smith on Domantas Sabonis: I’ve never heard his name in a conversation with anybody involved with the Raptors for a year and a half. They’re pretty happy with Jakob Poeltl with two years left in his deal at 20 million a year. Sabonis is a great player. No question about it. But I’ve never heard his name linked to Toronto. Anybody who I’ve talked to in the Raptors front office has never talked as a guy as that they would like to pursue. -via YouTube / June 3, 2025

Doug Smith: I don’t know if it will happen but I do know there is mutual interest between Antetokounmpo and the Raptors. The wild card is the cost. But I also think the Raptors are uniquely placed to make an attractive offer that won’t ruin their franchise or roster. I would make the case that a logjam at the wings makes them deep enough that if they had to pay even two out of Gradey Dick, Ochai Agbaji, Ja’Kobe Walter, RJ Barrett, Jonathan Mogbo would still leave enough to fill out a pretty good team with promising young players still developing. Plus, they have all their picks, so giving a first-rounder every year for, say, four years, leaves enough. -via Toronto Star / June 2, 2025

Ryan Wolstat: RJ Barrett said the Raptors are loaded offensively now. Is excited for next year. Intrigued by adding Ingram. Thinks he personally has improved at both ends of the floor. -via x.com / April 14, 2025

The 25-year-old Immanuel Quickley has won the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award for April, an award which “honours the next generation of players’ commitment to positively impacting their community throughout the NBA season,” the league announced Wednesday. He has established four, four-year scholarships at his alma mater, John Carroll School in Bel Air, Md., and supported health and wellness through his participation with Courtside Care and his IQ5 Elite Youth Basketball Program. -via Toronto Star / May 21, 2025

“My mom’s always said the best thing you can do is give back and help people,” Quickley said in a news release. “So yeah, I’ve worked hard to be great on the court, but at the end of the day, it’s really about making sure it’s not just about me and doing things that matter off the court too.” -via Toronto Star / May 21, 2025