Which of these superstars get a jersey retirement if they retired today?

[Slim Charlez]

Can someone tell me the logic behind thinking the Raptors wouldn't want to retire Kawhis Jersey? He led them to their only championship in franchise history. As nice as it would have been for him to stay there. I don't recall there being any bad blood between the two over him wanting to go to the Clippers. So I think that if he retired today they would definitely retire his Jersey as soon as possible, and eventually so would the Spurs unless he just turns them down.

Chris Paul would more than likely get his retired by the Suns, and maybe both the Pelicans and Hornets. He didn't do much but it would be a popular thing to do to have his name up there in New Orleans rafters. The Hornets would do it just because his Jersey name said Hornets, and because CP3 is a top name on the Jordan Brand. Business is business right?

Paul George? probably not, but that comes down to how Indiana feel about him right now. I really don't know.

James Harden is a yes. Not a fan of his myself but he'd likely get it in Houston. If OKC offered I wouldn't be surprised if he declines it.

Anthony Davis no.

Carmello no. Not in Denver, and more than likely not New York.

Because Kawhi screwed them? When is the last time that a player played for 1 year with a team, won a championship, and then left, and got their jersey retired?

I don't think he really screwed them, he pretty much let it be known from the beginning he probably wasn't sticking around no matter what happened, got them a title for a late FRP, a backup C and a guy they wanted to get rid of anyway, they should give him a statue.

[Long2_noD]

Because Kawhi screwed them? When is the last time that a player played for 1 year with a team, won a championship, and then left, and got their jersey retired?

Never. That's why it makes all sense in the world to do it.

Would be a legendary moment.

[Tacoma]

Can someone tell me the logic behind thinking the Raptors wouldn't want to retire Kawhis Jersey? He led them to their only championship in franchise history. As nice as it would have been for him to stay there. I don't recall there being any bad blood between the two over him wanting to go to the Clippers. So I think that if he retired today they would definitely retire his Jersey as soon as possible, and eventually so would the Spurs unless he just turns them down.

• He didn't want to be in Toronto and despite winning, left town the first chance he got and tried to use the Raptors as leverage to negotiate a better deal with LAC
• He led the Raptors as #1 option but (as he's proving unable to win in LA) the Raptors had an excellent supporting cast suited for him and he needed the Raptors to win as much as the Raptors needed him
• He left for LAC, a team that the Raptors said crossed the line by openly & illegally tampering by attempts to recruit Kawhi during the 2019 season
• Helping the Raptors win its "only" championship is a bad reason because it assumes they will never win another one again. If they win another, will they then unretire the jersey?
• The Blue Jays 2 championship teams also had key rental players but did not retire their jerseys. The Maple Leafs have 19 retired jerseys but none of them played in only 1 season. There's no history in Toronto for retiring jerseys for 1-year players.

[Johnny Tomala]

Carmelo Anthony - nope
Anthony Davis - nope
Paul George - nope (Clippers if they win a title with him in the squad)
James Harden - Rockets
Kawhi Leonard - nope (Raptors are not stupid to retire a jersey for a player that played one season for them, if he wins a title with Clippers, then they will retire his jersey)
Chris Paul - Clippers

[Capn'O]

I think Toronto does Kawhi. His tenure there meant a lot.

Otherwise agree.

[Klomp]

agree with your picks.

I think with the Clippers it's kinda in their interest to gaslight their fans into thinking more fondly of those years than they should. Griffen, Jordan and Paul were sold as a big three that could contend but they never came close, the warriors in particular having their number. Putting Paul in the rafters and pretending the team was a historically great one helps them gloss over the fact that, despite the names that have passed through, they've been a real let down.

I'm assuming you share the same opinion and rationale about gaslighting fans for Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, who has had a similar level of success?

[jjohns828]

What about dwight with the magic? Do people think they will retire him? I know the departure was bad but he is arguably there greatest player of all time to play for them.

If they had previously ever retired numbers I could see it, but with the way he left I can’t see him being the first player they do it for. They have a team hall of fame and imagine they’ll put him in there and that’s it.


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[skones]

Toronto thought so highly of Kawhi's number that they let Jalen Harris wear it for 13 games. That retirement aint happening.

[DonaldSanders]

Amazing what just a cursory search can reveal:

Thanks for the info but the snark really isn't necessary. I doubt you searched every player involved in this thread. If you did, kudos to you but almost nobody is going to do that in a casual thread like this.

The new owner MIGHT have some issues with Harden, but at the end of the day, Harden did what players today are expected to do when he left. He did it at the right time, his coach and GM left, so he felt the team was being blown up. I can't imagine any fans have any issue with how he left.

Ya apparently I was off. I tend towards only retiring players who brought championships, but he did have some amazing seasons in Houston so it makes sense. He exited in a distasteful way but it's water under the bridge now apparently.

[TheLand13]

Harden 2nd rocket?

Moses won 2 mvp and went to the finals.

This is more than Harden did.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

It's debatable. The 2018 Rockets were better and came closer to winning a title than the 1981 Rockets. The 1981 team just got an easy path to the finals, while the 2018 team faced the only team with a chance to beat them in the WC finals.

Moses won an extra MVP, but Harden had several more top-5 finishes, and conference finals runs.

Nah mate, Moses>Harden. Come on now.

[NO-KG-AI]

Paul: LA. New Orleans clearly has no intention given the manner of his departure but LA will. Yes, those Clippers didn't succeed as much as all hoped in the post-season. But he played like a HOFer most of his year there. More importantly he gave a franchise with a terrible rep much needed credibility. Instead of being bummed out he wasn't allowed to be a laker he embraced being a Clipper. Ballmer is obviously most important but Paul's embrace of Clippers helped the franchise gain a foothold with other superstars after being ignored for decades

I could see Paul getting his jersey retired here, and I'd love it. He was professional about his request and did everything the right way. He's always spoke glowingly about his time here and the city/fans. He feels like the first player that was truly "our guy", as the other Hornets before him were mostly holdovers from Charlotte. He's our first legend, and our best player ever.

[sp6r=underrated]

Can someone tell me the logic behind thinking the Raptors wouldn't want to retire Kawhis Jersey? He led them to their only championship in franchise history. As nice as it would have been for him to stay there. I don't recall there being any bad blood between the two over him wanting to go to the Clippers. So I think that if he retired today they would definitely retire his Jersey as soon as possible, and eventually so would the Spurs unless he just turns them down.

Chris Paul would more than likely get his retired by the Suns, and maybe both the Pelicans and Hornets. He didn't do much but it would be a popular thing to do to have his name up there in New Orleans rafters. The Hornets would do it just because his Jersey name said Hornets, and because CP3 is a top name on the Jordan Brand. Business is business right?

Paul George? probably not, but that comes down to how Indiana feel about him right now. I really don't know.

James Harden is a yes. Not a fan of his myself but he'd likely get it in Houston. If OKC offered I wouldn't be surprised if he declines it.

Anthony Davis no.

Carmello no. Not in Denver, and more than likely not New York.

Because Kawhi screwed them? When is the last time that a player played for 1 year with a team, won a championship, and then left, and got their jersey retired?

I don't think he really screwed them, he pretty much let it be known from the beginning he probably wasn't sticking around no matter what happened, got them a title for a late FRP, a backup C and a guy they wanted to get rid of anyway, they should give him a statue.

Agree he didn't screw them. Raptors made that trade with eyes wide open about were Kawhi wanted to play. The only way they were keeping him was if they moved to San Diego, and then he gladly re-signs. but no reason to give him a statue for being the best player on a title team that was already pretty good. It was just 1 year. It would need to be a 2000 Shaq level campaign for me to give a statue off of 1 year

[sp6r=underrated]

Paul: LA. New Orleans clearly has no intention given the manner of his departure but LA will. Yes, those Clippers didn't succeed as much as all hoped in the post-season. But he played like a HOFer most of his year there. More importantly he gave a franchise with a terrible rep much needed credibility. Instead of being bummed out he wasn't allowed to be a laker he embraced being a Clipper. Ballmer is obviously most important but Paul's embrace of Clippers helped the franchise gain a foothold with other superstars after being ignored for decades

I could see Paul getting his jersey retired here, and I'd love it. He was professional about his request and did everything the right way. He's always spoke glowingly about his time here and the city/fans. He feels like the first player that was truly "our guy", as the other Hornets before him were mostly holdovers from Charlotte. He's our first legend, and our best player ever.

Always good to hear the take of someone from the city. Is he still popular in New Orleans among older fans?

[Bornstellar]

Carmelo Anthony - Denver
Anthony Davis - None
Paul George - LAC just because they don't have many
James Harden - Houston, easily
Kawhi Leonard - Toronto probably despite how pathetic that would look
Chris Paul - NOLA and LAC

[BallerTalk]

Amazing what just a cursory search can reveal:

Thanks for the info but the snark really isn't necessary. I doubt you searched every player involved in this thread. If you did, kudos to you but almost nobody is going to do that in a casual thread like this.

I will cease with the snark and haughty derision when RealGMers cease rampantly, gleefully, and often times aggressively, talking out of their collective asses.

It's inexcusable in this age of information.

Deal?

[sp6r=underrated]

Amazing what just a cursory search can reveal:

Thanks for the info but the snark really isn't necessary. I doubt you searched every player involved in this thread. If you did, kudos to you but almost nobody is going to do that in a casual thread like this.

I will cease with the snark and haughty derision when RealGMers cease rampantly, gleefully, and often times aggressively, talking out of their collective asses.

It's inexcusable in this age of information.

Deal?

You must be a fun guy.

[BallerTalk]

You must be a fun guy.

I like to think so

[Raps in 4]

Carmelo Anthony - Maybe in Denver due to the one WCF run. But I doubt it. He left as soon as he could and didn't bring them any success beyond that one season. He then didn't bring relevance to the Knicks either.

Anthony Davis - Maybe LAL. He was integral to their title run.

Paul George - Nowhere right now. LAC if they win a title.

James Harden - Houston. He made them perennial contenders for a few years.

Kawhi Leonard - Toronto. He brought us our first title.

Chris Paul - LAC. He made that franchise relevant along with Blake.

[PistolPeteJR]

Harden without a doubt, CP3 probably. None of the others.

[dk1115]

All of them.