Trade: [TOR/SA] Leonard and Green to TOR for DeRozan, Poeltl and draft considerations

[The Mighty Duck Man]

If you don't play and aren't hurt, how does that count as honoring your contract? There has to be rules against that.

That's what I'm wondering. The NHL didn't let Yashin do it, I have to imagine the NBA would be very quick to step in.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

That's what I'm wondering. The NHL didn't let Yashin do it, I have to imagine the NBA would be very quick to step in.

Found this...

His camp made it very clear over the past week, to the Raptors and other teams, that Leonard wanted no part of Toronto, sources say.

The Raptors didn't care. They know any threat of failing to report is probably empty, since they can fine Leonard for each practice and game he misses -- up to his full $20.1 million salary.

Lowe: What the Kawhi trade means for Raptors, Spurs and NBA

 

[Reality Check]

This guy is a ****ing loser.

Might not be what you want to hear but that's hardly a minor opinion amongst NBA players. The only way teams like Toronto can compete are through the draft and trades.

 

[Cubs2024WSChamps]

Hahahahaha

if Drake does the feelings challenge Kawhi will jump into his car as hes dancing and leaves.

Great job trading proven talent for somebody who wants no part of your team.

 

[Voight]

So Leonard reportedly has no interest in not just suiting up for the Raptors but even living in Toronto at all, and the Raptors told DD they wouldn't trade him. Just incredibly head scratching management from Toronto's end.

Well at least they got a Conference Finals appearance out of it, that's one better than the Hornets have ever accomplished.

People need to realize they told DeRozan they wouldn't trade him because this deal fell apart multiple times in the last week. Finally the Spurs caved.

Had Lebron stayed in Cleveland, this trade would've been good.

But now that Lebron's gone to LA, I kinda wanted to see what Derozan and Lowry could do now in the playoffs.

This trade sucks. Only thing that could make this better if Kawhi actually plays his heart out in Toronto.

Praying he pulls a Paul George. And leave all his drama behind in San Antonio.

As for Masai, I feel like he's just trying to be relevant or something. He made two unnecessary moves. First, he got rid of the Coach of the Year and now this.

It was clear the duo of Lowry-DeRoz was not going to do anything, LeBron or no LeBron.

Yes, Kawhi is one of the few players who can fully guard & shutdown LBJ but they have a great chance of making the finals with him, better than they did 24 hrs ago.

 

[Blitzkrug]

**** this ****ing guy. You're locked into a contract, too damn bad if you don't want to play in either San Antonio or Toronto.

Go ahead, sit out and cost yourself untold amounts of money.

 

[Megahab]

We have a way better shot of going somewhere with Leonard then we did with DeRozan.

For one season tops.

I like the trade. If you can get a top 5 player, you go get him. We didn't give up much at all outside of Demar. Real talk... we were going nowhere in the playoffs with a Derozan led team. This is the "culture reset" needed

Where will they go with Leonard for a year?

So you're advocating keeping a losing, choking core in place that was already mentally weak, then got not only swept but blown off the floor by the worst Cavs team in the last five years and you were expecting them to rebound from it?

Leonard is likely there for one season at most. This is a move you make if you think you have the final piece to the championship puzzle.

 

[Tad Mikowsky]

You know, there’s a sweet irony for a player not wanting to play in Toronto.

Doesn’t feel good, does it?

I don’t like this trade: yeah KL is a top talent but will bolt after one season. Better win it all....which won’t happen.

 

[N o o d l e s]

Leonard is likely there for one season at most. This is a move you make if you think you have the final piece to the championship puzzle.

I bet they end up trading him

 

[dahrougem2]

The Raptors have never been to the Finals. This trade gives them the best chance to get there provided Kawhi actually plays for them (which I fully expect him to). I don't think he re-signs, but one season with Kawhi and a trip to the Finals is likely worth it for Masai Ujiri. A 7 game series where they actually match up pretty well personnel wise against Golden State is extremely alluring. You were never getting that with DeRozan. You absolutely can get that with Kawhi.

 

[MagicalRazor]

They went all in this year After this year rebuild time 100%

 

[Diddy]

They werent winning with derozan & Lowry as their core. Might as well get a better player and try to win it all for one year instead of never winning it and always making playoffs .

 

[Fish on The Sand]

This is an awful trade for both teams. Raptors get a little better, but not by any significant margin, whereas the Spurs get marginally worse. This is a trade by two teams who have no idea what direction they're going.

Spurs should be tearing it all down and should have looked for exclusively futures whereas the Raptors should have been looking at a way to add to their core, not exchange it.

 

[Avs_19]

C: JV, Ibaka
PF: Anunoby, Siakam
SF: Kawhi, Powell
SG: Green, Miles
PG: Lowry, Wright, FVV

That's a very deep team that finally has a legit superstar leading the way (well, if he shows up).

 

[darko]

Have any of you considered that next summer DeRozan may return?

The only way I would have pulled off this trade is with a guaranteed sign and trade.

Not a fan of Leonard's attitude though. Both sides were wrong in their own way but he checked out and during this whole thing only cares about playing in one place. Seems like a lousy teammate.

He can't return next summer. He's under contract for 2 more years.

 

[darko]

Both Kawhi and DeMar are from LA lol.

 

[Mitchy]

This is an awful trade for both teams. Raptors get a little better, but not by any significant margin, whereas the Spurs get marginally worse. This is a trade by two teams who have no idea what direction they're going.

Spurs should be tearing it all down and should have looked for exclusively futures whereas the Raptors should have been looking at a way to add to their core, not exchange it.

Raptors got massively better. Leonard is a top 5 player in the game easily and an absolutely huge upgrade over DeRozan. Danny Green is a good 3 and D player as well.

 

[PBandJ]

So they traded for a guy who wants absolutely nothing to do with the city or the team, and could very well choose to just buy a home in LA and sit the year out? And mistreated a guy who had been nothing but loyal and actually loved Toronto on his way out?

That's dumb.

 

[Fish on The Sand]

Raptors got massively better. Leonard is a top 5 player in the game easily and an absolutely huge upgrade over DeRozan. Danny Green is a good 3 and D player as well.

Leonard isn't top 5 in the game. Maybe top 10, but still Derozan himself is probably a top 20 player. The upgrade from Derozan to Leonard brings them from 3rd best team in the east all the way to...3rd best team in the east. They needed to add someone like Leonard while keeping Derozan for this to be worthwhile.

 

[Avs_19]

Leonard isn't top 5 in the game. Maybe top 10, but still Derozan himself is probably a top 20 player. The upgrade from Derozan to Leonard brings them from 3rd best team in the east all the way to...3rd best team in the east. They needed to add someone like Leonard while keeping Derozan for this to be worthwhile.

If he's 100% healthy then he's easily top 5 and might even be top 3. He's also the best two-way player in the NBA. DeRozan is very good but going from him to Kawhi is a massive upgrade IMO.

 

[Fish on The Sand]

If he's 100% healthy then he's easily top 5 and might even be top 3. He's also the best two-way player in the NBA. DeRozan is very good but going from him to Kawhi is a massive upgrade IMO.

Which of Lebron, Westbrook, Harden, Davis, Curry, Durant, or Paul is he better than?

I can't really see a case for Leonard over any of them, and a case could be made for Antetokounmpo as well.

We can argue his exact placement, but that's really immaterial. Upgrading from Derozan to Leonard isn't a big enough upgrade to change the team's fortunes. The Raptors are still clearly worse than the Sixers and Celtics. I guess this is a big enough upgrade to make sure that they stay ahead of the Pacers though, but somehow I don't think that was the point of the move.

 

[Virtanen18]

They'll make it out of the first round if Kawhi stays healthy no problem whatsoever.

And it won't be a slog as usual where we have to talk about how bad Lowry and DeRozan are playing before they FINALLY close it out.

IMO, this is a good gamble by Masai. They only had two more years with this core so I don't mind the risk. They could've stayed the course with a good team or started rebuilding but instead Masai improved the team and put them right up there with the other top East teams. Losing Poeltl hurts but keeping Anunoby and giving up no unprotected picks is a win for them. DeRozan has been great for the Raptors and Canadian basketball in general so I can understand why people, including him, are upset with this.

For the Spurs, this will be interesting. They're the Spurs so they'll probably go win 60 games but Aldridge, DeRozan, and Gay playing big minutes together? On paper that doesn't seem like a great fit on either end of the floor. I like Poeltl for the future though and he's probably going to be great in that system.

Of course this is all dependant on Kawhi actually showing up and if he refuses then it's obviously a complete disaster. In that scenario you don't get Kawhi and DeRozan is pissed as well.

You're definitely higher on Poetl than I am. Not a big loss at all for the Raptors IMO given the depth and that they had to give up a young player. He was the right one to lose I think. I wouldn't like this trade if they gave up OG for sure. Also skeptical of the Spurs taking 100 shots a game in the midrange

 

[Virtanen18]

Which of Lebron, Westbrook, Harden, Davis, Curry, Durant, or Paul is he better than?

I can't really see a case for Leonard over any of them, and a case could be made for Antetokounmpo as well.

We can argue his exact placement, but that's really immaterial. Upgrading from Derozan to Leonard isn't a big enough upgrade to change the team's fortunes. The Raptors are still clearly worse than the Sixers and Celtics. I guess this is a big enough upgrade to make sure that they stay ahead of the Pacers though, but somehow I don't think that was the point of the move.

Lmao what the hell?? Absolutely better than Westbrook, Davis, Paul, and Giannis. Not even a question.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

Which of Lebron, Westbrook, Harden, Davis, Curry, Durant, or Paul is he better than?

I can't really see a case for Leonard over any of them, and a case could be made for Antetokounmpo as well.

We can argue his exact placement, but that's really immaterial. Upgrading from Derozan to Leonard isn't a big enough upgrade to change the team's fortunes. The Raptors are still clearly worse than the Sixers and Celtics. I guess this is a big enough upgrade to make sure that they stay ahead of the Pacers though, but somehow I don't think that was the point of the move.

Westbrook, Harden and Paul for sure, maybe Curry and Davis as well. You're really underrating Kawhi, especially if you dont see a case for him being better than Chris Paul of all people.

Also while you're right that going from a top 20 guy to a top 5 guy doesn't seem like a massive upgrade(for instance, no one would consider trading Tarasenko for maybe a year of Erik Karlsson), its huge in the NBA. Superstars matter the most and you just dont win without them. Now they have the best player in the East and IMO you're really underrating the Raptors and their chances.

 

[Fish on The Sand]

Westbrook, Harden and Paul for sure, maybe Curry and Davis as well. You're really underrating Kawhi, especially if you dont see a case for him being better than Chris Paul of all people.

Also while you're right that going from a top 20 guy to a top 5 guy doesn't seem like a massive upgrade(for instance, no one would consider trading Tarasenko for maybe a year of Erik Karlsson), its huge in the NBA. Superstars matter the most and you just dont win without them. Now they have the best player in the East and IMO you're really underrating the Raptors and their chances.

Leonard hasn't shown he can elevate the Spurs though. Once they became his team the Spurs have been mediocre. Every single player I named has shown the ability to carry a team on their back. Leonard only has 2 seasons of averaging 20+ points and only 1 season averaging in the 25+ range for a below average passer and rebounder you'd like to see him consistently putting up 25+. I realize Leonard is one of the best 2 or 3 defenders in the league and that this is a big part of his value, but still, he's only really had one truly top of the line season the way I see it.

Regardless of where Leonard is being ranked though, I don't see this as being good enough to get them past the Sixers or Celtics and therefore its a bad move. I think its even worse from the Spurs perspective because it shows they can't see the writing on the wall and are going to settle for being a middle of the pack team.