After a slump, the Toronto Raptors fell out of the top of the East and are now back in the NBA trade rumors fold. That's how fluid it is. Even their fan base is weighing in on trades and players they should target like Kenneth Faried.

For the Toronto Raptors, the best time to make a push is now. Kyle Lowry is playing the best ball of his career and observers believe this is his peak. It is now up to the supporting cast to keep up. The backcourt seems covered with the return of DeMar DeRozan but the frontline has a void.

From Sportsnet: "Jonas Valanciunas is progressing well (I still say he's a future All Star), but he's not a shot-blocker or rim-protector. His rebounding and scoring are fine (and only going to improve), but there's a void left by Toronto's bigs. And it's not filled when you factor in the second unit-with guys like Tyler Hansbrough, Chuck Hayes or Patrick Patterson-either."

With this predicament, a solution has to come if the Raptors want to contend from the East's loaded frontlines. The Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards and even Atlanta Hawks have multiple post threats. The suggestion:

"If I were in Ujiri's shoes, I'd be looking at teams outside of the playoff picture. Are those clubs looking to auction off assets? Denver's Kenneth Faried was mentioned above by one reader, and the Nuggets are a team worth talking to. Timofey Mozgov is intriguing, and Ujiri's ties to Denver could bring added value."

Mozgov is gone and it might be indicative of a change in the Nuggets' plans. Faried was supposed to be their star but at there was turmoil at the start of the season concerning him. There's reason to believe that the problem persists and if Denver was offered the right package, they would let him go.

Are the Raptors still short of a frontline player to be a contender?