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Tim BontempsESPN
The Toronto Raptors are sending guard Goran Dragic and a protected 2022 first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs for forward Thaddeus Young and Drew Eubanks, along with a 2022 Detroit Pistons second-round pick, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The first-round pick is protected from 1-14 this year, and 1-13 in 2023. If it doesn’t convey either season, it becomes a pair of second-round picks.
The Raptors have been aggressively pursuing upgrades to their roster using Dragic and their first-round pick in the days leading up to the trade deadline, as they try to bolster their roster after going 16-6 since Dec. 31 — the best record in the Eastern Conference over that span. That push has moved Toronto into sixth place in the East, a half-game ahead of the Boston Celtics.
While Young, 33, has played sparingly this year for the Spurs, he was one of the best bench players in the NBA last year for the Chicago Bulls, averaging 12.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 68 games for the Bulls. Toronto will all but certainly use him in a similar role this year, as he’s a perfect complement to the long, versatile trio of forwards — Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby and rookie Scottie Barnes — the Raptors have in their nontraditional starting lineup.
The addition of another reliable rotation player will also take some of the minutes load off of Toronto’s starters. For the season, Fred VanVleet, Siakam and Anunoby are first, second and third in minutes played per game in the entire league, while Barnes is 10th and guard Gary Trent Jr. is 23rd.
Dragic, 35, averaged eight points over five games with Toronto before leaving the team early this season. He is expected to be bought out by the Spurs, sources said, and will be coveted on the buyout market by several teams, including the Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls and LA Clippers.
There has long been a connection between Dragic and the Mavericks — who nearly traded for him a few years ago — due to his close relationship with Mavericks star Luka Doncic, both of whom are from Slovenia and won Eurobasket together with the national team in 2017.
Both Young and Dragic are on expiring contracts. Eubanks, 25, has one more year remaining on his contract. The 6-foot-9 big man from Oregon State is averaging 4.7 points and 4.0 rebounds across 47 games this season.