Report: Raptors 'absolutely not' interested in trading Ross
With the NBA's trade deadline only weeks away, playoff-bound teams are surely leaving no stone unturned in their quest to address team needs and weaknesses before it's too late.
Teams must also evaluate, however, whether making a move to improve their 2015 postseason hopes is worth potentially diminishing long-term plans - especially if the team in question is not yet to ready to contend for a championship.
The Toronto Raptors, for example, are in the midst of the best season in franchise history, and could play their way into the Eastern Conference Final if things break right and they avoid certain matchups.
Given their 19th-ranked defense, the Raptors could also easily be a first-round casualty, and improving that D is likely high on General Manager Masai Ujiri's to-do list.
But don't expect the team to deal third-year swingman Terrence Ross in search of that defensive upgrade, according to Sporting News' Sean Deveney.
But according to league sources, Ross is going nowhere. "Absolutely not," one rival executive told Sporting News. "They still have a lot of belief in him and there is not much you could do to get him from them.
The Raptors are armed with a number of good value contracts, rookie-scale deals, draft picks and talented young players - Ross among them. But an absolute no-brainer of a deal would have to present itself for Ujiri to part with one of those future assets.
Ross, who started for Toronto for much of last season and the first half of this season, was recently replaced in the starting lineup by Greivis Vasquez after a poor stretch. He's logged only 19 minutes per game over his last six contests after averaging nearly 28 minutes through the first 39 games.
The high-flyer is a career 37 percent three-point shooter who shot nearly 40 percent from behind the arc last season. He also has the tools to be a top-notch perimeter defender, as he has shown in spurts over the last three seasons, but his consistency on both ends of the court has been an issue.
He seems to lose focus on the defensive end too often, while getting complacent and not attacking the basket enough on the offensive end, as evidenced by his troubling Free Throw Rate.
In addition, the Raptors perform more than seven points per 100 possessions better with Ross on the bench as opposed to on the court, according to Basketball Reference.
Still, for a franchise on the rise that is still exceeding expectations this season, there's no reason to give up on a 23-year-old freak-athlete unless blown away by an offer.
While the Raptors' defense does need addressing, things may not be as dire as they seem.
For all the talk of a lack of rim protection, Toronto ranks in he top-10 in opponent field goal percentage at the rim after ranking in the top-10 in defensive efficiency last season, and their D has started to rebound over the last couple of weeks, albeit against some weak offensive competition.