The Board Man Cometh!! Kawhi Leonard Signs 3 Year (2+1), $103 Million Deal

TheNewEra · Post #301 » by **TheNewEra** » Sat Oct 20, 2018 7:57 pm

We need to get him on the team.

Quake Griffin · Post #302 » by **Quake Griffin** » Sat Oct 20, 2018 8:45 pm

He's looking like he's back to himself so far.

Will be awesome if he stays healthy. Would love to bring him into the fold then.

Ranma · Post #303 » by **Ranma** » Sun Oct 21, 2018 6:32 am

wco81 wrote:I think players are looking at two max slots.

In Kawhi's case, his fiancé or girlfriend, the mother of his child, lives in LA so if he wants to see them, LA is supposedly his main choice.

But man he's taking a double hit. He left money on the table when he forced his way out of San Antonio and he'll take another hit if he leaves Toronto. Tens of millions in both cases.

Nothing can be done about losing out on the super max in San Antonio now and, based on the numbers quoted below from mkwest, the difference in yearly salary is negligible when you consider the higher cost of living in Canada, with a tax rate that is even higher than California's. Leonard either re-signs in Toronto for $38 million a year over 5 years or signs with the Clippers (or some other team) as a free agent for $35.25 million per over 4 years. The extra year with the Raptors is also negligible if he's healthy since he should still be able to sign another multi-year contract at the age of 32 albeit probably not as large.

As you pointed out, he was fine with forgoing a super max deal with the Spurs to push his way out of San Antonio, so it's doubtful that he'd be concerned about whatever money he might be losing out on in an NBA contract, especially when there are usually more endorsement opportunities in Los Angeles than Toronto.

On top of that, if what you say is true, there's the added incentive of seeing his kid and baby mama in SoCal along with returning to his hometown. In the end, there are more benefits for him to choose Los Angeles over Toronto. Obviously, nothing is a sure thing with the Raptors possibly reaching the NBA Finals and Kawhi falling in love with the city of Toronto, but as things stand right now, it's looking quite favorable for Jerry West's free-agent plans.

mkwest wrote:

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Kawhi's options are:

Sign 5-year extension with Spurs for $221M
Sign 4-year extension 6 months after being traded for $108M
Sign 5-year contract next summer if he re-signs to team he is traded to for $190M
Sign 4-year contract next summer with a new team for $141M

Galloisdaman · Post #304 » by **Galloisdaman** » Sun Oct 21, 2018 5:32 pm

Good player (great defender when healthy) but another guy who reportedly had issues in his previous stop with teammates/management.

Ranma · Post #305 » by **Ranma** » Thu Oct 25, 2018 12:25 am

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Ranma · Post #306 » by **Ranma** » Sat Oct 27, 2018 7:34 pm

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Clemenza · Post #307 » by **Clemenza** » Sat Oct 27, 2018 8:08 pm

Its going to be hard for him to leave Toronto

esqtvd · Post #308 » by **esqtvd** » Sat Oct 27, 2018 9:25 pm

Clemenza wrote:Its going to be hard for him to leave Toronto

VERY hard to leave

Ranma · Post #309 » by **Ranma** » Thu Nov 1, 2018 7:25 am

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Ranma · Post #310 » by **Ranma** » Thu Nov 1, 2018 9:17 pm

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Ranma · Post #311 » by **Ranma** » Sun Nov 4, 2018 1:37 am

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Ranma · Post #312 » by **Ranma** » Mon Nov 5, 2018 11:22 pm

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Tim Bontemps, ESPN.com (11/5/18)

And while there is plenty of time for things to change, there is a sense within the league Leonard will do the same next summer.

A survey of several league executives this weekend had the Lakers trailing, even among Staples Center tenants, in the competition to get Leonard, with the LA Clippers universally being placed ahead of them. Rather than seeking to team up with James, the thinking is that Leonard would prefer to have control of his own team, which the Clippers would offer, while still giving him the ability to return to his native Southern California.

The Lakers explored a potential Leonard trade this summer, but the San Antonio Spurs' asking price prevented a deal from ever coming close to fruition. The Clippers, meanwhile, have relentlessly pursued Leonard since the summer but didn't have the assets necessary to get a deal done.

Regardless of how things play out this season, though -- no matter how well the Raptors do, or how much Leonard assimilates into Toronto's vibrant cultural scene -- it's worth remembering that this is a man who grew up in the heart of Lakers territory rooting against his hometown team and his family, and for Allen Iverson.

Kawhi Leonard has never been afraid to be a contrarian. That could make the Lakers' task of convincing him to join them next summer more difficult than they ever imagined it'd be.

Kawhi Leonard is Leaving Few Clues About His Upcoming Free Agency

wco81 · Post #313 » by **wco81** » Tue Nov 6, 2018 1:29 am

Should be noted that KL could maximize his money by signing a 1+1 or 2+1 deals with Toronto until he's a 10-year vet and then sign a 5-year max deal.

Maybe money isn't his top priority or maybe Nike will offer him a big shoe deal that it won't matter what his NBA salary is.

Ranma · Post #314 » by **Ranma** » Tue Nov 6, 2018 5:36 am

wco81 wrote:Should be noted that KL could maximize his money by signing a 1+1 or 2+1 deals with Toronto until he's a 10-year vet and then sign a 5-year max deal.

Maybe money isn't his top priority or maybe Nike will offer him a big shoe deal that it won't matter what his NBA salary is.

That's an interesting point, but Kawhi gave up a lot of money extinguishing any chance at a supermax extension with the Spurs by pushing his way out of San Antonio, so I doubt money will be the top priority for him. I get the feeling that he's more interested in returning to his hometown than anything else with his uncle handling his business matters and, as you've pointed out previously, his baby mama living in Southern California.

He could fall in love with the city of Toronto, but I don't get the sense that has happened yet as he seems to be treating his time there like an extended business trip. Then again, it's typically hard to get a sense of what Leonard is thinking most of the time, so who knows?

Ranma · Post #315 » by **Ranma** » Thu Nov 15, 2018 9:30 pm

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Ric Bucher, BleacherReport.com (11/15/18)

One Eastern Conference executive insists Leonard never deserved to be viewed any other way, but being in conflict with one of the league's most successful franchises—and coaches in Gregg Popovich—put him in the crosshairs of anyone who had to pick a side to blame.

"The San Antonio mafia is real," the executive said. "When the Godfather (Popovich) speaks, they're coming for you. He's the nicest kid in the world and all of a sudden he's an evil villain? He's not an angry kid. He's a sweetheart."

An Eastern Conference scout agreed that the Raptors' simpler style allows Leonard to be more aggressive.

"They don't have a lot of the same structure San Antonio did," the scout said. "Pop was great at getting Kawhi the ball in his sweet spots, but there was always structure to it. Toronto is playing so free and fast that the defense doesn't know with as much certainty when and where he's going to get the ball. He is definitely handling the ball more in random pick-and-roll situations as well as set pick-and-roll calls."

The Spurs' organizational structure is legendary and includes a stone wall between any internal issues and the public or media. Leonard, while clearly wanting to be elsewhere as much as Minnesota's Jimmy Butler did, never publicly violated the team code, while Butler, now in Philadelphia, was very vocal about his desire to be elsewhere. Both ultimately got their wish to be moved, but Leonard arguably had his character impugned far more harshly.

"Jimmy was like, 'Get me out of here and I'm going to tear down this thing on the way out,'" the executive said. "Kawhi doesn't talk to the media. Why would he call someone in the media to kill San Antonio for him? Let's face it: San Antonio screwed up."

Leonard's reticence makes sense when one understands his devotion to economy—as in the sparing use of available resources. The next time you see him put flourish into a fake will be the first time. He gets to his place of operation on the floor with a physique surprising in its similarity to those of LeBron James and Blake Griffin and then does whatever needs to be done with as little wasted motion as possible. His three-point shot is flat-footed, and his step-back jumper is more of a slide-back. Even his free-throw form is a study in minimalism—no knee bend, no elaborate pre-shot spin or dribble.

He is the quintessential direct-line player, his drives barely deviating between his starting point and the rim; once he angles one of his shoulders past a defender, he's going until someone or something makes him stop.

Free from 'San Antonio Mafia,' Kawhi Leonard Is Everything Raptors Hoped For

Ranma · Post #316 » by **Ranma** » Wed Nov 28, 2018 6:45 pm

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wco81 · Post #317 » by **wco81** » Wed Nov 28, 2018 8:21 pm

$5 million is peanuts.

I used to buy NB high tops back in the day because you could get them with different widths but their line outside of running and maybe cross training shoes is thin.

NB is an American company so doubt it would influence him towards staying in Toronto.

OTOH, since he has that shoe deal, there's no advantage in going to a larger American market with the expectation that shoe companies would be willing to give him a bigger deal because he's in a bigger market.

Remember when there were rumors that Nike was offering some players additional financial inducements to go to a bigger market? I think Lebron may have been one of those during his first stint in Cleveland. But they ended up giving him a gigantic deal anyways.

Ranma · Post #318 » by **Ranma** » Wed Nov 28, 2018 10:00 pm

wco81 wrote:$5 million is peanuts.

I used to buy NB high tops back in the day because you could get them with different widths but their line outside of running and maybe cross training shoes is thin.

NB is an American company so doubt it would influence him towards staying in Toronto.

OTOH, since he has that shoe deal, there's no advantage in going to a larger American market with the expectation that shoe companies would be willing to give him a bigger deal because he's in a bigger market.

Remember when there were rumors that Nike was offering some players additional financial inducements to go to a bigger market? I think Lebron may have been one of those during his first stint in Cleveland. But they ended up giving him a gigantic deal anyways.

He is supposedly getting significantly more than $5 million per year since he turned down a 4-year, $22-million extension with Nike. Nike supposedly has 10 business days to match New Balance's offer, so I'm guessing he's at least closer to $6 million per year in order to further discourage them not to match. I guess we'll find out the details once a contract is signed. I actually wouldn't be surprised if it approached double digits in the millions annually, especially given that he's currently in the MVP conversation.

In any case, even if he only gets about $5 million a year, that puts him in the top-15 annual shoe earners in the NBA according to Nick DePaula of ESPN. Also, there's been talk that New Balance has been trying to launch a new signature shoe for some time. The company apparently made impressive presentations to Gordon Hayward, Joel Embiid and Kelly Oubre, Jr. in the past to no avail in attempts to sign a headliner as it's been trying to recapture a foothold in the NBA. Matt Bonner and draft prospect Darius Bazley are apparently the company's most notable basketball clients.

The article mentions that standard shoe contracts provide bonuses for receiving All-Star, All-NBA and MVP designations. Given New Balance's aims to increase market share in the basketball scene, I can't help but think that there have to be incentives similar to the ones rumored to be in LeBron's deal with Nike where bonuses would be conferred if Kawhi were to play for a bigger media market than Toronto, like say, Los Angeles--which would seem to line up with Kawhi's own previous and possibly current desires, by the way. The Deputy Mayor of L.A. seems to be onboard.

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Ranma · Post #319 » by **Ranma** » Tue Dec 4, 2018 1:07 am

Yeah, I know it's Broussard in the video at the bottom of this post, but at least the Kawhi talk is supported by the prevalence of more credible reporting.

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Ranma · Post #320 » by **Ranma** » Thu Dec 6, 2018 10:35 am

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Ric Bucher, BleacherReport.com (12/5/18)

Leonard has steadfastly refused to discuss what he might do if he becomes a free agent next summer, but he doesn't view James as some sort of measuring stick.

"What else do I have to prove?" he asks. "He beat me in the Finals; we came back and beat him." So you don't have anything else to prove? "Just when we do play him, try to win the game. That's it."

Why Doesn't Anyone Want to Play with LeBron Anymore?