A skeptic could say that the Toronto Raptors should have been more aggressive at the NBA Trade Deadline this season given that they haven't made the playoffs since 2022. However, they made productive moves despite their conservative approach.

The Raptors dealt guard Ochai Agbaji and a 2032 second-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets and got future Hall of Famer Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers in a three-team trade on Thursday before sending a 2026 second-round pick (via the Los Angeles Lakers) to the Golden State Warriors for big man Trayce Jackson-Davis. They won't require Paul to report to the team, per ESPN.

Toronto is now under the luxury tax, which gives it more roster-building flexibility moving forward. Jackson-Davis also adds sorely-needed frontcourt depth, as center Jakob Poeltl (back) has been out since late December. The seven-foot Poeltl is the team's only player above 6-foot-9. 

Toronto getting under the luxury tax could help it trade for a star this offseason. Teams that are above the aprons are restricted in trades as punishment for high payrolls in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, but the Raptors will have no such issues. That could give it the advantage in the chase for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer, for example.

The two-time NBA MVP  will have one year left on his contract before a 2027-28 player option, and the Bucks are nowhere close to being championship-caliber. If he wants to win his second career ring anytime soon, teaming up with Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram on the Raptors would make sense.

Antetokounmpo will make $58.4 million next season before his $62.7 million player option, and trading for a salary that high isn't easy. If Toronto does pull it off, then the financial benefit from the Agbaji trade will be partially why.

This trade deadline would have been a home run for the Raptors if they had moved off of either Poeltl or Immanuel Quickley's contracts. Poeltl is making $19.5 million this season and next season before an average salary of $28 million over the following three campaigns. Additionally, Quickley is making $32.5 million each year through 2029.

Those are two of the NBA's worst contracts, as neither player is worth that level of investment. Flipping at least one of them for cheaper or expiring deals would give the team even more cap room to build around Ingram and Barnes.

However, the Raptors at least made progress, and they're on pace to make the playoffs 31-22. They're fifth in the Eastern Conference entering Sunday's matchup with the Indiana Pacers.