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The Raptors need to address roster deficiencies at trade deadline

Having a trade chip like Goran Dragic is a gift for the Toronto Raptors. Here's why it’s important they use it to help raise their ceiling this season. Follow Yahoo Sports Canada for all your Raptors coverage.

Video Transcript

YASMIN DUALE: When you fill these roles that are just kind of hampering the Raptors right now, you really get to assess the team honestly. Like right now it's hard to assess them when they're playing so well. But as soon as they sit down, as soon as one or two guys sit down, everything is cratered. The offense is cratered and everything, and the defense falls apart.

So if you can prevent that, then you can honestly take a look at the team and see what the issues are, see where the deficiencies lie, but they can't do that right now. So I would love to see an iteration of the team that we can really look at and judge, which we haven't really had the opportunity to do this season.

AMIT MANN: You took the words out of my mouth. I was going to say the exact same thing, that if you want to evaluate this team properly, especially leading into the playoffs, and I think-- I mean, I think it's fair to say that they've got a really good shot of being in that top six. If you have these deficiencies you're not going be able to evaluate them properly. Because a team, any team, in that top six, you got a lot of good teams there, they're going to plow down on those, and that's going to be the reason why you potentially lose a series.

But if you address some of those needs now, then come the off season, then you can take a more holistic look at what you're missing with your team. And then next season, you're going to be in a better position to take another leap forward, because the players are going to do it, it seems like. You know, Fred, Pascal, down the board, like, they're all going to get better. You know how they operate, how devoted they are to improving themselves. So they're going to do their part, and now you've got to do your part at the trade deadline.