Did the Toronto Raptors make a trade deadline deal to get a player who will ultimately be tasked with agitating LeBron James? It sounds like the answer is yes.
ESPN’s Marc Stein said Thursday that the Raptors’ addition of forward P.J. Tucker from Phoenix had to do with James, who may end up facing Toronto again in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
Really like Raptors not only adding Serge Ibaka recently, but brawny versatile defender P.J. Tucker today. P.J. move was with LeBron in mind
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) February 23, 2017
Tucker is a tough, strong, defensive-minded forward who is entirely capable of guarding guys who are a little bit bigger than he is. That means that if the Cavaliers and Raptors do cross paths in the playoffs, he’ll be ideally suited for physical LeBron defensive duty. He has previously proven his willingness to get tangled up with bigger guys. Cleveland would still probably win, but the hope for Toronto is that they’d make it a little bit harder.
