life_saver wrote:Lets say Kawhi doesn't play rest of the playoffs due to his injury and Clippers lose the series 4-1...considering Kawhi's injuries in last 4 years, would you entertain a trade centered around KAT & Kawhi ? Kawhi currently has 2 years remaining on his contract (2nd one is a player option)
You nailed the reason I wouldn’t do it .. team control.
Since MIN has never been able to attract or keep star free agents, we need to be especially careful to look for stars who have longterm deals, and who want to be here so they don’t abandon us for nothing at the first opportunity. Kawhi is an interesting personality, and I think that players that have been in small markets, non-flashy guys, (and foreign players), seem to have the least problem coming to a smaller market. However, Kawhi wanted so much to be in California that he left a champion team to do it. The chance that this would be a one-year rental takes Kawhi off the table for me.
This is an unfortunate, realistic issue for an actual GM, when fans say, “Just trade Towns!” Even if MIN can get an equivalent talent, what’s going to keep him in MIN? And if you trade for win-later picks, then you are making it harder for Ant to even make the playoffs - a goal Connolly believes is critical for his development. People can hate Towns, but he is All-NBA-level talented and he seems to want to be in MIN. It’s nearly impossible to find a trade return that matches that criteria.
