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Raptors close to acquiring Kawhi Leonard

What i like here is that this is either brilliant or utterly insane with no inbetween.

My guess is Ujiri knows he's sort of on his last legs and is shooting the moon.
 
Nik the Trik said:
What i like here is that this is either brilliant or utterly insane with no inbetween.

My guess is Ujiri knows he's sort of on his last legs and is shooting the moon.

I think I am leaning towards utterly insane. 
 
Significantly Insignificant said:
Nik the Trik said:
What i like here is that this is either brilliant or utterly insane with no inbetween.

My guess is Ujiri knows he's sort of on his last legs and is shooting the moon.

I think I am leaning towards utterly insane.

Likewise, especially with a 1st and Poetl also included in the deal...
 
Andy said:
Significantly Insignificant said:
Nik the Trik said:
What i like here is that this is either brilliant or utterly insane with no inbetween.

My guess is Ujiri knows he's sort of on his last legs and is shooting the moon.

I think I am leaning towards utterly insane.

Likewise, especially with a 1st and Poetl also included in the deal...

I'm not sure why that would make it MORE insane? 

If anything, it makes the move brilliant.  Didn't mortgage the future (1st round pick is Top 20 protected and converts to two 2nd round picks if protection comes into play... didn't trade OG or Pascal)

The big issues are the loyalty factors.  Dealing Demar is ice cold.  He gave this franchise everything and stuck by them through alot.  And Leonard may not even report (although I doubt it), but he's pretty much a 1 year rental unless we get extremely lucky.

Team was due for a reset in 2 years anyways, this moves it up a year.
 
Significantly Insignificant said:
I think I am leaning towards utterly insane.

I think how this looks now might be very different from how it looks if the Raptors flip Kawhi at some point.

But honestly, what's the other option? Bring everyone back to try and win an Eastern Conference where it already looks like they've been surpassed by the Celtics and the Sixers, the grand prize being a surefire sweeping in the finals?
 
I am wary here for a few reasons. There was a report that came out that Masai Promised DeRozan that he wouldn?t trade him. if that?s the case that?s a poor way to handle the one superstar who?s actually re-signed with the team more than once. Toronto can?t attract anybody and having Kawhia for one year isn?t going to fix that.

I don?t love the idea of acquiring the team around him and I have concerns about how things played out in SAN Antonio.

That being said the raptors weren?t going to win with this Team as is.  I don?t honestly think we are that much better with this move that it makes us a contender. 
 
L K said:
I am wary here for a few reasons. There was a report that came out that Masai Promised DeRozan that he wouldn?t trade him. if that?s the case that?s a poor way to handle the one superstar who?s actually re-signed with the team more than once. Toronto can?t attract anybody and having Kawhia for one year isn?t going to fix that.

I don?t love the idea of acquiring the team around him and I have concerns about how things played out in SAN Antonio.

That being said the raptors weren?t going to win with this Team as is.  I don?t honestly think we are that much better with this move that it makes us a contender.

The optics of trading Derozan, the one star who wanted to stay in Toronto through anything, are definitely not good.
On the other hand, the Raptors haven't been a destination in the NBA for many years BECAUSE THEY SUCKED.  They will never be a destination like LA, NYK, or Boston because very few teams have that cachet.  Being a really good team can put them in the next tier of destinations though, despite the reservations players have about being in Canada and the weather etc. 

In terms of the Kawhi situation in San Antonio... definitely, there is TONS of cause for concern.  Then again, we wouldn't be in this situation had it not played out like that.  (The Raps would have had to give up a ton more, and I doubt they would have)

This move makes us WAY better.  Like, 8 expected wins on the season better  (from 53 to 61).  Nobody is touching the Warriors, but we aren't far off from the rest of the leagues "contenders".
 
Coco-puffs said:
This move makes us WAY better.  Like, 8 expected wins on the season better  (from 53 to 61).  Nobody is touching the Warriors, but we aren't far off from the rest of the leagues "contenders".
Didn't the Raps win 59 last year? Can't see them winning 67 this season.
And just saw deal is done.....time will tell
 
Nik the Trik said:
Significantly Insignificant said:
I think I am leaning towards utterly insane.

I think how this looks now might be very different from how it looks if the Raptors flip Kawhi at some point.

But honestly, what's the other option? Bring everyone back to try and win an Eastern Conference where it already looks like they've been surpassed by the Celtics and the Sixers, the grand prize being a surefire sweeping in the finals?

Yeah, rock and a hard place situation.  Kawhi is a top 5 player when he is at his best.  Probably the best player that has been on the team since Carter or McGrady, depending on how you view Bosch.  They had to do something other than shuffling the deck chairs, but it would have been nice if they could have come up with a creative way to add to the group without getting rid of DeRozan.  Sure you wouldn't get a talent like Kawhi, but maybe there is something else out there that you can do to augment the team.  As has been mentioned by others, here is a guy that committed to the team, and you just up and traded him.  I know it happens, but in this situation, it feels like that should have been avoided.
 
Guilt Trip said:
Coco-puffs said:
This move makes us WAY better.  Like, 8 expected wins on the season better  (from 53 to 61).  Nobody is touching the Warriors, but we aren't far off from the rest of the leagues "contenders".
Didn't the Raps win 59 last year? Can't see them winning 67 this season.
And just saw deal is done.....time will tell

Expected wins is different than win last season.

https://twitter.com/JacobEGoldstein/status/1019568972377804800

Edit:
Btw, by his model, the Raps are a close second to the Warriors.  Expected ORtg: 2nd.  Expected DRtg:  2nd.    Boston and Philly are projected at 55 wins. 

https://twitter.com/JacobEGoldstein/status/1019569200308850689
 
Coco-puffs said:
Guilt Trip said:
Coco-puffs said:
This move makes us WAY better.  Like, 8 expected wins on the season better  (from 53 to 61).  Nobody is touching the Warriors, but we aren't far off from the rest of the leagues "contenders".
Didn't the Raps win 59 last year? Can't see them winning 67 this season.
And just saw deal is done.....time will tell

Expected wins is different than win last season.

https://twitter.com/JacobEGoldstein/status/1019568972377804800

Edit:
Btw, by his model, the Raps are a close second to the Warriors.  Expected ORtg: 2nd.  Expected DRtg:  2nd.    Boston and Philly are projected at 55 wins. 

https://twitter.com/JacobEGoldstein/status/1019569200308850689
Thx for the info...from a pure loyalty side, this trade is bad. DD was told he wouldn't be traded and now he is. Looks bad and even worse by firing the coach of the year. Something had to give tho.
 
I don't know anything about Basketball. How good is Kawhi really? I've read he's like top 3-5 in league good. Any comparable hockey player or old school bball player?
 
Bender said:
I don't know anything about Basketball. How good is Kawhi really? I've read he's like top 3-5 in league good. Any comparable hockey player or old school bball player?

NBA Finals MVP (2014)
2? NBA All-Star (2016, 2017)
2? All-NBA First Team (2016, 2017)
2? NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2015, 2016)
3? NBA All-Defensive First Team (2015?2017)

He's been 2nd and 3rd in NBA MVP Voting in the two seasons prior to last.  LeBron is king, and he's in the convo for the 2-5 spot in the league assuming he's healthy.
 
Bender said:
I don't know anything about Basketball. How good is Kawhi really? I've read he's like top 3-5 in league good. Any comparable hockey player or old school bball player?

John Tavares
 
Significantly Insignificant said:
Bender said:
I don't know anything about Basketball. How good is Kawhi really? I've read he's like top 3-5 in league good. Any comparable hockey player or old school bball player?

John Tavares

UGH.  As much as I love John Tavares, he's probably in the 10-20 range in the league.  And in the NBA, the superstars drive your success more than they do in the NHL (see:  McDavid)
 
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