Difficult for Raptors to determine what they need with the NBA trade deadline around the corner

Nick Nurse knew it was coming, he’s far from the only one who did, but the complexities of this unique NBA season are going to keep spilling with plans in the second half.

For several reasons – COVID, the usual ongoing injuries, the toll of the first full 82-game season since the Raptors won the 2018-19 NBA Finals – depth would be a priority around the league this season, the Raptors could not be sure they do not have it and it will cloud what they can do before the February 10 trading deadline.

“I said it at the beginning of the year: The days of eight or nine (players) and thinking you’re going to be right are probably over,” Nurse said this week. “I said you’ll need 13 this year, look. It has been proven to be true. ”

The problem for the Raptors is that they have no idea if they have 13 major NBA players because they had to stumble through numerous absences that led to the second half of the season that began Wednesday night in Dallas.

“We’re trying to evaluate who exactly we are, and if you’re going to try to add a piece or two, what you’re always trying to do is say, ‘What does this team need?’ “Even in the championship year you try to find out where we can make it so much better, so much deeper or whatever. It was harder this year to find out.”

If everyone can get settled into roles for even a few weeks, they might know, but that does not seem to be possible. The Raptors only had the full list available for a few games in the first 41 of the season and the clutter, the constantly moving bits and pieces, did not allow them to figure out what they really were.

“I hope we can keep our guys on the floor because we want to build this year and we need them out there to build,” Nurse said.

The questions are many when everyone – or even a large majority of the team’s top players – is available.

They might find out if Yuta Watanabe is a good depth piece, for example, but they do not know because he was in and out of the series.

Same with Khem Birch and Precious Achiuwa. What is the better beginner or is both fit and able to play backup roles?

Can Svi Mykhailiuk play or not? Is he okay at eight minutes a night or three because he did not thrive on being pushed into a more substantial role with all the roster juggling the Raptors had to do.

Can handle Justin Champagnie small minutes with his energy but attacking limitations; to have him available as one of two backups every night in Nurse’s rotation emphasizes his shooting commitments.

“I think we still learn every day,” Pascal Siakam said this week. “Hopefully we can all get back… it was kind of the battle for our season.

“I feel we are taking turns, but hopefully everyone can come back soon and kind of see what we look like.”

All of this will come up more in the next three weeks before the trade deadline when General Manager Bobby Webster and Vice President Masai Ujiri have to decide what roster adjustments they can or should make. This is complicated because the complete grid was so rarely in place.

“Our top eight, we can not miss three or four of those guys (and) who we were,” Nurse said. “If we have them, we have a measure of size and athleticism that we can face defensively. That’s kind of all I ever ask for is a chance to go out and watch over you. ”