Toronto enters the trade deadline as the clear second-best team in the East behind Cleveland, on pace for a sprightly 55-27 per FiveThirtyEight’s ELO. Despite being managed by the trigger-happy Masai Ujiri, most signs seem to indicate continuity for the Raptors. This is not without sound logic. Toronto is trending upwards, and entered the All-Star Break on a 14-2 run. And as currently constructed, they would almost certainly get the playoff series win that has eluded them the past two seasons.

Yet they are also at a crossroads with their own future. Their backcourt duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan are both in the midst of career years, and this season is likely the apex of their collective talent. Cap woes are also of concern as this team ages, with DeRozan in line for a mammoth deal this summer.

DeRozan will get a max contract this offseason. The Lakers have already said that they will offer him the max, and the Raptors will (and should) be ready to offer him the max to stay in Toronto. Doing so would incur a $25 million cap hit in 2016-2017, and put over $106 million on Toronto’s cap for 2016-2017. After handing Terrence Ross a 3 year - $33 million extension in October, the Raptors would be committing over $35 million to two shooting guards.

The cap will rise to $92 million this summer, and early projections have the cap rising to $108 million for the summer of 2017. Even under the soaring projections, Toronto would be capped out. Of course, they would still retain financial flexibility, and their mid-sized deals are fairly movable.

In general, no team is ever completely stuck with bad contracts, as there will always be a team under the salary floor willing to absorb the albatross deals in exchange for future picks. But even if nearly every team will have max-level room, cap space is still an asset, and Toronto will have precious little if they want to run it back with their core.

Considering the financial uncertainties in Toronto’s future, it makes sense to go for it this year. They are the quintessential win-now team, and have the assets to make a serious move. Masai reportedly loves Patrick Patterson, who would most certainly be involved in any trade for a 4. More attractive to most trade partners is the Raptors’ duo of 2016 1st rounders, both their own and an unprotected Knicks’ pick.

Most theoretical trades involving Toronto have them acquiring Ryan Anderson, Kenneth Faried, or Markieff Morris. While each is a substantial upgrade over Luis Scola, they do not necessarily move the needle for the Raptors. Masai would understandably hesitate to agree to a deal which includes Patterson + a young asset, or simply an unprotected first for any of those players.

Upgrading their starting 4 is imperative for the Raptors. The Scola-Valanciunas lineups are untenable, with a net rating of -3.1. Playing the vast majority of minutes with the starting 5, Scola manages a -0.9 net rating. But Toronto should not hastily give up Patterson in order to demote Scola.

On a wonderfully tradeable deal with 2 years left for $12.3 million, Patterson been a part of the Raptors’ two most productive lineups by net rating. The lineup of Lowry - Joseph - Ross - Patterson - Biyombo has managed a +36.6 net rating in 171.6 minutes together, their third most-used lineup.