Woj: Kawhi still leaning towards Clippers, Raptors have a lot of work to do still

[dc]

I hate to re-hash anything regarding the Spurs and Kawhi, but...

If Kawhi ends up leaving for LA, it'll pretty much give credence to the Spurs perspective that he just wanted out to get to LA no matter what. That the "broken trust" he had with the Spurs organization was just used as a front to bolt out of town to the place he wanted to go all along.

Again, I think he stays in Toronto after everything that's happened, but just saying....

[simple_jack]

Let’s all be real tea here.

Woj is on the Clippers books. It is now blatantly obvious

Help me out with the logic of what you consider to be blatantly obvious. So Woj is on the Clippers books and they're paying him to put out there that Kawhi is still interested. The point of that would be what? That Kawhi, not actually being interested in the Clippers is now going to become interested in them after reading Woj say he is?

Steve Ballmer is a mad man and they’re trying to paint a picture.

How does Woj have an update on the situation right after they just won an NBA title?! Kawhi is a very difficult man to read and he doesn’t reveal much.

It’s all just speculation from Woj and truth is he doesn’t actually know ****.

[lamscott]

I hate to re-hash anything regarding the Spurs and Kawhi, but...

If Kawhi ends up leaving for LA, it'll pretty much give credence to the Spurs perspective that he just wanted out to get to LA no matter what. That the "broken trust" he had with the Spurs organization was just used as a front to bolt out of town to the place he wanted to go all along.

Again, I think he stays in Toronto after everything that's happened, but just saying....

This is a assuming a lot.

[BullyKing]

Let’s all be real tea here.

Woj is on the Clippers books. It is now blatantly obvious

Help me out with the logic of what you consider to be blatantly obvious. So Woj is on the Clippers books and they're paying him to put out there that Kawhi is still interested. The point of that would be what? That Kawhi, not actually being interested in the Clippers is now going to become interested in them after reading Woj say he is?

Steve Ballmer is a mad man and they’re trying to paint a picture.

How does Woj have an update on the situation right after they just won an NBA title?! Kawhi is a very difficult man to read and he doesn’t reveal much.

It’s all just speculation from Woj and truth is he doesn’t actually know ****.

Right, that makes tons of sense. Kawhi will become interested in the Clippers if he reads that he is. I think I'm going to continue giving credence to what Woj reports that nonsensical conspiracy theories.

[dc]

I hate to re-hash anything regarding the Spurs and Kawhi, but...

If Kawhi ends up leaving for LA, it'll pretty much give credence to the Spurs perspective that he just wanted out to get to LA no matter what. That the "broken trust" he had with the Spurs organization was just used as a front to bolt out of town to the place he wanted to go all along.

Again, I think he stays in Toronto after everything that's happened, but just saying....

This is a assuming a lot.

That's assuming he goes to one of the LA teams, which is obviously a huge move, but isn't a lot. It would be one thing.

[raptor jesus]

I think the onus is on the Clippers' medical staff. If there's a marriage between Kawhi's desire to go home and his faith in the Clippers' ability to keep him on the floor, then I think it's a very real possibility.

[madmaxmedia]

I don't think a free agent like Kawhi can really count on anything past 1 or 2 years. A team in a great position is inevitably going to have important players coming off rookie contracts, etc. Kawhi's fortunate to have a title team to return to, or a great situation in LA as well if he so chooses. If he signs a long deal in either place, it's just as much a bet on the FO, and both Toronto and Clippers seem to have excellent ones.

I think we're mostly on the same page, but as a sidenote I don't think we should chuck all of the current context and say 'well, all FAs are equally uncertain about their future.' KD knew he was getting Steph, Klay, and Draymond in their primes, for example, and Lebron and Bosh knew they were getting years of each other and Wade in their primes. Some of the other pieces weren't clear but they moved based on some basic certainties. (Other guys like Grant Hill, or maybe Kyrie now, left non-contenders to roll the dice with younger teams with cap space.)

Kawhi's in a more specific situation in which he's not going to a blank-slate team but has to choose which type of risk he wants. The Raptors will almost definitely be good next year, but the FO can't really do anything definite if Lowry and Gasol start falling off soon (a very real possibility), there's no magic formula to get all-star level supporting players quickly whenever you need them. Conversely the Clips are a total wildcard and the FO can't do anything to guarantee they'll land something great with the picks and cap space they have--they can only do their due diligence, work the right angles, and hope some things shake out. Be interesting to see how it goes.

You're right- familiarity definitely counts for something (a lot.) I guess I was thinking about it more generally in terms of us evaluating different destinations. The Clippers are generally a great destination now because of good vet contracts and good young players, but over the next 3-4 years from now that advantage gradually disappears, and its up to the front office to try to maintain an edge on the rest of the league as it is for any team.

I could easily seeing him winning a title next year with either team. I want him to join the Clippers, but will be happy for Toronto if he stays there.

[15Years]

Not even 24 hours since we won and all i've heard today is will masai accept the wizards offer? Kawhi is pretty much gone. If this was an LA or NY team they would be talking about how the east has a new beast and the west may not match up etc.

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

I mean, if he had sources...why didn't he say Kawhi to Toronto was a lock last summer? None of them got that right, because they don't have sources in Toronto. This ship don't leak.

[Clay Davis]

Let’s all be real tea here.

Woj is on the Clippers books. It is now blatantly obvious

Help me out with the logic of what you consider to be blatantly obvious. So Woj is on the Clippers books and they're paying him to put out there that Kawhi is still interested. The point of that would be what? That Kawhi, not actually being interested in the Clippers is now going to become interested in them after reading Woj say he is?

Steve Ballmer is a mad man and they’re trying to paint a picture.

How does Woj have an update on the situation right after they just won an NBA title?! Kawhi is a very difficult man to read and he doesn’t reveal much.

It’s all just speculation from Woj and truth is he doesn’t actually know ****.

Yah, I feel like a lot of this is Woj ingratiating himself with FOs.

[BullyKing]

Help me out with the logic of what you consider to be blatantly obvious. So Woj is on the Clippers books and they're paying him to put out there that Kawhi is still interested. The point of that would be what? That Kawhi, not actually being interested in the Clippers is now going to become interested in them after reading Woj say he is?

Steve Ballmer is a mad man and they’re trying to paint a picture.

How does Woj have an update on the situation right after they just won an NBA title?! Kawhi is a very difficult man to read and he doesn’t reveal much.

It’s all just speculation from Woj and truth is he doesn’t actually know ****.

Yah, I feel like a lot of this is Woj ingratiating himself with FOs.

Please stop and think for a second. Why would the Clippers want Woj saying this if it wasn't true? All they'd be doing is setting expectations for failure with their own fans. Raps fans are just grasping out straws rather than accept the possibility, just possibility, that Kawhi might leave.

[dan-man]

He's going for 3 titles for 3 teams!

[PlatinumState]

At this point Woj is just pulling his info out of thin air

[sca]

Help me out with the logic of what you consider to be blatantly obvious. So Woj is on the Clippers books and they're paying him to put out there that Kawhi is still interested. The point of that would be what? That Kawhi, not actually being interested in the Clippers is now going to become interested in them after reading Woj say he is?

Steve Ballmer is a mad man and they’re trying to paint a picture.

How does Woj have an update on the situation right after they just won an NBA title?! Kawhi is a very difficult man to read and he doesn’t reveal much.

It’s all just speculation from Woj and truth is he doesn’t actually know ****.

Right, that makes tons of sense. Kawhi will become interested in the Clippers if he reads that he is. I think I'm going to continue giving credence to what Woj reports that nonsensical conspiracy theories.

I don’t necessarily agree with the conspiracies surrounding Woj and the FOs but if he wants Kawhi to go to LA, then it makes sense for him to stir the pot like this. The point would be to create distrust, desperation and panic in the Raptors organization, not to influence Kawhi’s decision directly.

[poomaster]

Steve Ballmer is a mad man and they’re trying to paint a picture.

How does Woj have an update on the situation right after they just won an NBA title?! Kawhi is a very difficult man to read and he doesn’t reveal much.

It’s all just speculation from Woj and truth is he doesn’t actually know ****.

Yah, I feel like a lot of this is Woj ingratiating himself with FOs.

Please stop and think for a second. Why would the Clippers want Woj saying this if it wasn't true? All they'd be doing is setting expectations for failure with their own fans. Raps fans are just grasping out straws rather than accept the possibility, just possibility, that Kawhi might leave.

Sow seeds of doubt in Kawhi's mind that if he re-signs Masai may still leave for another company leaving him hanging.

[batman54]

At this point Woj is just pulling his info out of thin air

thin air is not where I was thinking.

[lonzo_pelota]

clippers need to retire rodney rodgers jersey before they go after kawahi, man is a living legend yet i dont think the clippers support him like they should

[BullyKing]

Steve Ballmer is a mad man and they’re trying to paint a picture.

How does Woj have an update on the situation right after they just won an NBA title?! Kawhi is a very difficult man to read and he doesn’t reveal much.

It’s all just speculation from Woj and truth is he doesn’t actually know ****.

Right, that makes tons of sense. Kawhi will become interested in the Clippers if he reads that he is. I think I'm going to continue giving credence to what Woj reports that nonsensical conspiracy theories.

I don’t necessarily agree with the conspiracies surrounding Woj and the FOs but if he wants Kawhi to go to LA, then it makes sense for him to stir the pot like this. The point would be to create distrust, desperation and panic in the Raptors organization, not to influence Kawhi’s decision directly.

Again, I don't get it. So what, the Raptors are now not going to offer Kawhi a max contract at whatever length he wants? Regardless of whether the organization trusts Kawhi or not, they're going to offer him literally anything he wants (as they should).

[Ree4erMadness]

Told you guys, if he were even LEANING towards Toronto, he would just come out and say it. None of this, "I'm not thinking about that right now", and all of this nonsense. Do any of you study psychology or human nature? Have you read the "Laws of Human Nature"? Do any of you actually think he hasn't thought about this? Are as human nature suggests, you convince yourselves that he's telling the truth because thats your truth, you want him to stay. Instead of logically thinking to yourself, of course he's thought about it, unless you actually think he's a cyborg and not a human.

People give away hints in their tone and body language without even realizing it.

He's obviously giving the politically correct answer, but it's not unreasonable that he hasn't made a decision.

I'm sure now that the season is done, he can sit down with his family and lay out all the scenarios and make the best decision for himself.

This is what I'm saying though. You don't think he's already done this? If not with his family, I'm sure he's laid all this out and weighed all these options personally already. I'm still stuck on, what's left to talk about?

What I'm saying is if he were really leaning towards Toronto, there would be no need to give a politically correct answer. You could just tell the truth.

[BullyKing]

Yah, I feel like a lot of this is Woj ingratiating himself with FOs.

Please stop and think for a second. Why would the Clippers want Woj saying this if it wasn't true? All they'd be doing is setting expectations for failure with their own fans. Raps fans are just grasping out straws rather than accept the possibility, just possibility, that Kawhi might leave.

Sow seeds of doubt in Kawhi's mind that if he re-signs Masai may still leave for another company leaving him hanging.

If Woj was trying to sow seeds of doubt to get Kawhi to LA, he'd put out that having now won a title, ownership is focused on cutting salary in the coming years.