1 year ago today, Kawhi said he was a "fun guy" & did the iconic laugh.

[gpoon]

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he'd stay. And like that, poof. He's gone.

[WaltFrazier]

I miss that guy already. One thing that kinda hurts, in his Clipper media sessions he seems more relaxed, and somehow speaks more authoritatively, like he has assumed leadership of that team, and he is home, etc. He was a great teammate here, did everything you could ask, never acted like he had one foot out the door - but still somehow he appears different now,more relaxed, less guarded.

[J-Roc]

I miss that guy already. One thing that kinda hurts, in his Clipper media sessions he seems more relaxed, and somehow speaks more authoritatively, like he has assumed leadership of that team, and he is home, etc. He was a great teammate here, did everything you could ask, never acted like he had one foot out the door - but still somehow he appears different now,more relaxed, less guarded.

Because he did always act like he had one foot out the door.

[DIEHARD_005]

In hindsight the writing was always on the wall - we were all naive for thinking he would stay. He was cold and at least to me, never seemed to warm up to the city or the base. The first time it seemed that he was warming up was when he appeared on How Hungry Are You with Serge - but even then, he seemed uncomfortable. Even in his post ship interviews he would reference "them" or "they" rather than saying "us" or "we" when talking about the team or this city.

Yes, nobody can deny he gave it 209109% in the playoffs, but by then he knew he was playing for his own legacy rather than for this team - its just fortunate that the goals for the team and for him personally were aligned.

[ReggieSlater]

I miss that guy already. One thing that kinda hurts, in his Clipper media sessions he seems more relaxed, and somehow speaks more authoritatively, like he has assumed leadership of that team, and he is home, etc. He was a great teammate here, did everything you could ask, never acted like he had one foot out the door - but still somehow he appears different now,more relaxed, less guarded.

Because he did always act like he had one foot out the door.

All I know for sure is his feet were standing on that parade bus with the rest of the team.

[Senbonzakura]

Ball.

[SHFT]

In hindsight the writing was always on the wall - we were all naive for thinking he would stay. He was cold and at least to me, never seemed to warm up to the city or the base. The first time it seemed that he was warming up was when he appeared on How Hungry Are You with Serge - but even then, he seemed uncomfortable. Even in his post ship interviews he would reference "them" or "they" rather than saying "us" or "we" when talking about the team or this city.

Yes, nobody can deny he gave it 209109% in the playoffs, but by then he knew he was playing for his own legacy rather than for this team - its just fortunate that the goals for the team and for him personally were aligned.

Thats extremely harsh and based on nothing at all. If you wanted him to publicly rep the team and city in his own time, you were setting yourself up for disappointment. You admit that he put it all on the line in the playoffs...what else were you expecting from him?

Goals like winning a ship SHOULD be the same for the team and the individual its not a case of fortune. And what else do you expect a guy to play for other than his legacy (besides money)? The teams legacy? That makes no sense.

[PoundTown]

Best basketball player on earth. His celebration of the championship seemed sincere to me. He is a competitor and everything seems to indicate he really got along with and enjoyed everyone in that locker room and was a professional but knew there was little chance he was coming back. I think We went from “no chance in hell am i resigning” to a fall back option on a short term deal if things in LA couldn’t work. Interesting that he kind of spent some time here w his girlfriend going to jays game and what not when he could have bolted. I mean I knew he had some loose ends to take care of but also seemed like a guy wanting to take in a city he liked and will always be fond of with great memories although it’s ultimately not going to be home. Came back again for caribana.

[load management]

Who?

[Mikistan]

Who?

Load management the real mvp, without our Alex Mckenie and the Raptors health staff we would be out in 2nd round no doubt no doubt

[Psubs]

Watch on YouTube

[Basketball_Jones]

I miss that guy already. One thing that kinda hurts, in his Clipper media sessions he seems more relaxed, and somehow speaks more authoritatively, like he has assumed leadership of that team, and he is home, etc. He was a great teammate here, did everything you could ask, never acted like he had one foot out the door - but still somehow he appears different now,more relaxed, less guarded.

Because he did always act like he had one foot out the door.

Combination of both. He kind of got his mojo back as well.

[SFour]

I miss that guy already. One thing that kinda hurts, in his Clipper media sessions he seems more relaxed, and somehow speaks more authoritatively, like he has assumed leadership of that team, and he is home, etc. He was a great teammate here, did everything you could ask, never acted like he had one foot out the door - but still somehow he appears different now,more relaxed, less guarded.

maybe winning the championship is the reason he's more relaxed.....it seems like all of the Raptors that were apart of the championship run are a lot more relaxed now, not just Kawhi. You can see it in Lowry, Siakam, Powell, FVV etc.

[WaltFrazier]

I miss that guy already. One thing that kinda hurts, in his Clipper media sessions he seems more relaxed, and somehow speaks more authoritatively, like he has assumed leadership of that team, and he is home, etc. He was a great teammate here, did everything you could ask, never acted like he had one foot out the door - but still somehow he appears different now,more relaxed, less guarded.

maybe winning the championship is the reason he's more relaxed.....it seems like all of the Raptors that were apart of the championship run are a lot more relaxed now, not just Kawhi. You can see it in Lowry, Siakam, Powell, FVV etc.

Well but he already won one before. I do think his relief is knowing he proved he was fully back from his injury, along with now being "home."

[J-Roc]

I miss that guy already. One thing that kinda hurts, in his Clipper media sessions he seems more relaxed, and somehow speaks more authoritatively, like he has assumed leadership of that team, and he is home, etc. He was a great teammate here, did everything you could ask, never acted like he had one foot out the door - but still somehow he appears different now,more relaxed, less guarded.

Because he did always act like he had one foot out the door.

Combination of both. He kind of got his mojo back as well.

I don't mean it as a knock on him. But all last year we as fans wanted to believe he wanted to be here. Not just last year, per his contract, but long term. Now that it was clear he wanted to go to LA the whole time, there's nothing wrong with admitting that the way he acted the whole time was like a guy who didn't want to commit long term. He knew he'd most likely be leaving. And he already seems like a happier guy, so it's not like he acts the same way in LA. It's cool. He was our Roger Clemens. Hard to believe one of the GOAT's played for us. And we won. But don't expect him to spend his retirement years visiting town and acting like he feels at home here.

[SurgeIblocka]

I have come to grips with Kawhi leaving and I have realized we probably won’t have another magical run to a championship for another 20 years, but what will really make me happy is to see Kawhi never win a championship again and his championship with us be his last.This way we can have the last laugh!

[Dirk]

The threads about Kawhi's free agency will always live on in my memory. Salute to all the fine folks who contributed to them.

The irony is that I personally thought he was going to LA... Lakers. Then it looked like he was definitely staying - it became a certainty at one point. And well... the anti-climax, turns out the guy had been scheming to get players to join him with the Clips.

[SFour]

I have come to grips with Kawhi leaving and I have realized we probably won’t have another magical run to a championship for another 20 years, but what will really make me happy is to see Kawhi never win a championship again and his championship with us be his last.This way we can have the last laugh!

we spurs fans now