Why Raptors may trade for LaMelo Ball or Trae Young originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Toronto Raptors have been linked to a number of big-name trade candidates.

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Two of these? The Charlotte Hornets‘ LaMelo Ball and the Atlanta Hawks‘ Trae Young.

Those are two of the nine stars that The Sporting News’ Stephen Noh wrote could be available in trades this season.

For both of them, Noh listed the Raptors as a possible outcome.

“The Raptors looked into Ball over the summer, per Scotto,” Noh writes. “The 24-year-old is still young enough that he would also fit into rebuilds in Portland and Dallas.”

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Young was out with injury for a while, and the Hawks learned that they can run the show through Jalen Johnson.

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“There are some teams that are in desperate need of a point guard though, and Young is one of the best passers in the league,” Noh writes. “He could help teams like the Blazers, Raptors, Magic, and Mavericks improve their offenses immediately.”

The Raptors currently use Immanuel Quickly and Jamal Shead at point guard. Scottie Barnes also handles a lot of playmaking duties.

Ball and Young would both be upgrades on paper, depending on what the trade cost would be. They also both have sizable contracts.

The Raptors are an organization that don’t mind making a splash. A trade for either of these guys would certainly count.

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Noh also linked the Raptors to big fella Domantas Sabonis earlier in his list, so maybe that’s in play, too.

Keep an eye on the Toronto trade rumors for sure.

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