How Come Buford and Gregg Popovich Get a Pass for Blowing the Kawhi Leonard Trade?

[jimmy keys]

Meh. The Lakers offer was **** anyways. Ingram with a blood clot issue + some role players and late picks isn't moving the needle. New Orleans should've done the same.

Agreed. Pelicans got ripped off. The picks they are going to get from the Lakers are going to be late first round picks if Davis/Lebron stay healthy. Also their future success really depends on Zion more so then Ingram. If Zion is not health then they are not going to be a playoff team.

I forgot they also got the gifted 4th overall pick when the Lakers missed the playoffs with LeBron. Unfortunately it was a two player draft.

[HMFFL]

The Spurs traded Kawhi to a destination that he had zero interest in and it wasn't among the teams on his trade list. Spurs seemed to think they got the last laugh, but Kawhi did, because he led Toronto to a championship. Nice gift for the great fanbase Toronto has.

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[VancouverRaps]

They didn’t blow it

[jimmy keys]

Its true , theyre FO made more of a emotional transaction than a business transaction . It sux for them but it is what it is

There was nothing out there including this horrible Lakers offer. It was way past the point of getting similar value for Kawhi by the time he was traded.

[G R E Y]

Its true , theyre FO made more of a emotional transaction than a business transaction . It sux for them but it is what it is

Nope. Spurs sought an All Star, a prospect, and a pick. Only one team fulfilled that, and that's the team that got #2. The emotional transaction would have been if the Spurs turned down a package they sought that LAL or LAC fulfilled, alas, neither team did.

[G R E Y]

The Spurs traded Kawhi to a destination that he had zero interest in and it wasn't among the teams on his trade list. Spurs seemed to think they got the last laugh, but Kawhi did, because he led Toronto to a championship. Nice gift for the great fanbase Toronto has.

Sent from my SM-N975U using RealGM mobile app

Spurs sought an All Star, a prospect, and a pick. Only one team met each of these criteria. And that's the team that got #2. Whether #2 had any interest in the destination has nothing to do with it. It wasn't about the last laugh, but about a deal good for the present and the future of the team. To that end, we're better today and going forward.

[MoochieNorris]

trying to cokblock a conference rival is the easy answer. did you not think of that, private pyle?

That might be the dumbest reason to turn down a trade. If you are rebuilding, what do you care what other teams are doing?
That said, if Ben Simmons or Jayson Tatum were never on the table, the trade wasn't terrible. And clearly their goal was remain competitive rather than rebuild. You can disagree with their goal (i do, they should have rebuilt), but they accomplished what they set out to do.

were the spurs rebuilding when they traded kawhi?

everyone is trying to very edgy and talk chit. use your head

[KobeHas5Rings]

trying to cokblock a conference rival is the easy answer. did you not think of that, private pyle?

I thought I made it pretty clear that I think "trying to cokblock a conference rival" is not a good rationale for a trade

That's my whole point...

That Pop should not be thinking of not helping the Lakers...but rather, he should be focused on making THE SPURS better.

[jptremblay]

One of the worst trades of the last 10 years...they traded a top 5 player and a good role player for an empty stats guy with a bad contract that put them in a treadmill situation. Sorry but adding Poetl and a late first round pick doesn't make that trade look any better.

I agree. Unfortunately Kawhi sabotaged his value and also sent out feelers to the rest of the league that he was going to one of the LA teams once his contract was up. It was a bitch move by Kawhi which derailed the Spurs chances of getting a good deal.

Yes, it's a shame the league didn't do anything to Kawhi...he should have been suspended for games plus a huge fine in salary terms.
It was a difficult situation but I think the Spurs could have landed something more valuable.

[KobeHas5Rings]

Spurs own fans don't give them a pass at all trust me, we know what an awful deal it was

Okay, apparently I just haven't seen it discussed.

I think from an objective standpoint, a "let's go younger, rebuild" approach made more sense at the time.

Getting Derozan wreaks of "I'm Gregg Popovich, and as long as I'm around we will try to make the Playoffs. Even if it does set our franchise back long term".

[Metallikid]

jrue holiday gets 5 pick, kawhi leonard gets 1 pick. this is beyond ridiculous.

[G R E Y]

Spurs own fans don't give them a pass at all trust me, we know what an awful deal it was

Okay, apparently I just haven't seen it discussed.

I think from an objective standpoint, a "let's go younger, rebuild" approach made more sense at the time.

Getting Derozan wreaks of "I'm Gregg Popovich, and as long as I'm around we will try to make the Playoffs. Even if it does set our franchise back long term".

Except it didn't. Ingram didn't get NOP into the playoffs. We have no need for Ball. We certainly had no need for Deng's contract dump. Instead, we have DD coming off the books, a re-signed Jakob who we need for position and defense, and Keldon Johnson, a high quality two-way relentless player. If you're going to make assertions about setting a franchise back, provide some evidence for it. We got the All Star, prospect, and pick we sought. As it stands, we're a better team going forward with the assets we have, in part because of this trade.

[baldur]

jrue holiday gets 5 pick, kawhi leonard gets 1 pick. this is beyond ridiculous.

Haha.

[2klegend]

The moral of the story is don't let emotion get into the business. This is often the case of poor management in a company as well. Good FOs should treat all players as an asset no matter how or what you think of the player value is. A younger, rising star player will always command more "value" on the trade market than a declining star. Ingram is still a more valuable trade piece than Derozen. The Spurs f up on that trade. There is no way to deny about it.

[blackcosmos]

I dont consider BI who had some blood clot issue, a first round pick and Deng a "godfather" offer

[DoctorX]

The moral of the story is don't let emotion get into the business. This is often the case of poor management in a company as well. Good FOs should treat all players as an asset no matter how or what you think of the player value is. A younger, rising star player will always command more "value" on the trade market than a declining star. Ingram is still a more valuable trade piece than Derozen. The Spurs f up on that trade. There is no way to deny about it.

Moral of the story is if you don't trade with the Lakers their fans are going to continue to whine and complain and will try to convince you a **** deal is a good deal.

[Jabroni Lames]

5 rings

True. But Pop & Buford have Zero rings without Duncan and are trending downwards fast.

Some would argue that Popovich and Buford's reputation is 100% derived from riding the coat-tails of Tim Duncan. Spurs culture itself, was all about Tim Duncan setting the example, in every possible way. Duncan elevated that entire franchise and he's under-appreciated for that.

[Johnny Tomala]

What's all this fuss about Ingram blood clots? He was healthy in last season, Ingram has had a successful thoracic decompression outlet surgery, correcting the structural issue (from Reddit). He is better than DeRozan. I think for Spurs it was a matter of pride - they didn't want to trade Leonard who quit on them to his preferred destination. But don't spin it like DeRozan is better than Ingram or that he is worth something. He should be lucky he played in the East and got those All Star Games appearances. In West DeRozan is irrelevant.

[Jadoogar]

trying to cokblock a conference rival is the easy answer. did you not think of that, private pyle?

That might be the dumbest reason to turn down a trade. If you are rebuilding, what do you care what other teams are doing?
That said, if Ben Simmons or Jayson Tatum were never on the table, the trade wasn't terrible. And clearly their goal was remain competitive rather than rebuild. You can disagree with their goal (i do, they should have rebuilt), but they accomplished what they set out to do.

were the spurs rebuilding when they traded kawhi?

everyone is trying to very edgy and talk chit. use your head

That's literally what i said. They weren't rebuilding but they should have

[Jadoogar]

Lol at hyping empty stat Ingram as a great option for the Spurs.

better than Derozan lol, Ingram already accomplished something DD could only fantasize bout, shot 40% from 3s oh yeah an all star in the west at 23, while DD wouldn't even sniff a skills contest invite

Yes great achievement by Ingram and he still couldn't lead his team to the playoffs which is the definition of an empty stat player.

This was ingram's 4th season, first 3 were on a circus Lakers team.
Derozan didn't make the playoffs till is 5th season and was never the best player on the team.