Kawhi Thread, Numero 4 -- Traded to Raptors for DeRozan, others

[Slax]

Never mind. They misinterpreted our "five best players" and put Rozier over Horford. Idjits.

I was going to say, I like Terry, but if he was off the table in a deal for even just one year of Kawhi, then Ainge and I value him very differently. Mistake in the media makes more sense.

[watsonthedragon]

[Wojnarowski] The Lakers feel like "we aren't going to gut our roster of young players and assets for a player we think we can get in free agency next year"

[Grooverider]

[Wojnarowski] The Lakers feel like "we aren't going to gut our roster of young players and assets for a player we think we can get in free agency next year"

That worked so well with Paul George too..

[TommyPoints]

[Wojnarowski] The Lakers feel like "we aren't going to gut our roster of young players and assets for a player we think we can get in free agency next year"

Their young players aren't that special anyway.

[FlatearthZorro]

[Wojnarowski] The Lakers feel like "we aren't going to gut our roster of young players and assets for a player we think we can get in free agency next year"

Their young players aren't that special anyway.

That's the weirdest thing, I don't see any potential superstars on their team, at all. Kawhi is a top 5 player. IHe wants to be in LA. You trade Slender Man, Hart and 2 future firsts for him any day of the week. You can even add Wagner. It's a no-brainer. Kawhi would definitely give them a decent chance to be competitive in the West. He can guard the best wings in the game and probably score 20+ points on the other end.

[djFan71]

[Wojnarowski] The Lakers feel like "we aren't going to gut our roster of young players and assets for a player we think we can get in free agency next year"

Their young players aren't that special anyway.

That's the weirdest thing, I don't see any potential superstars on their team, at all. Kawhi is a top 5 player. IHe wants to be in LA. You trade Slender Man, Hart and 2 future firsts for him any day of the week. You can even add Wagner. It's a no-brainer. Kawhi would definitely give them a decent chance to be competitive in the West. He can guard the best wings in the game and probably score 20+ points on the other end.

The other thing is if you don't, you're wasting a year of the tail end of LeBron's prime. The pick swaps, etc in the reported Spurs offer is a little ridiculous, but Ingram, salary and a couple late firsts isn't a huge haul, really. Problem is, SAS doesn't wanna rebuild. Seems like you need a 3rd team. Find someone who would want Lonzo and return a vet making similar salary and you're pretty much there, I'd think. Something like:

SAS: Kawhi, Brandon Paul for Kemba, Ingram, 2 LAL firsts
LAL: Ingram, Ball, Hart, 2 first for Kawhi
CHA: Kemba for Ball, Hart, Brandon Paul

That's a pretty sweet haul for SAS. Could probably drop a first even. Paul is just there for salary. I like Ingram a lot, but don't value Ball much, so that seems a fair price. Charlotte might be willing to roll the dice on him.

LAL are left with Rondo/Lance/Kawhi/LeBron/McGee Bench of Kyzma, Deng, Zubac, vet mins.

[Tyakack]

So if nobody budges, do the spurs just play out the year and hope leonard changes his mind or do they trade him for the best poo poo platter deal available?

[Valid]

If Kawhi is not traded to Lakers, Lebron will be 35 when he is a free agent. What if Lakers don’t have a great season or even a very good one? What if Ingram and Ball don’t excel next to Lebron and lose even more value? As it is, I wouldn’t trade Sac19 pick for Kuzma and certainly not for a 190 lb. wing or a PG with a bum knee who can’t shoot. I think Rozier and Sac19 is better than anything LAL can offer so I am sure there will be no Kawhi to Lakers deal this year. I think Kawhi will go to Sixers and I think after playing with Simmons and Embiid he will stay.

Ingram and Kuzma > Rozier and Sac pick.

Kuzma may be better than Rozier but would you trade the Sac pick for him? I sure as hell wouldn’t. Ingram was statistaclly worse than Rozier last year with more usage. If you compare Rozier as starter he was better. Is his value around league higher? Probably. That said, I would t trade Sac pick for any player on Lakers - maybe I’m underrating Kuzma but I think it’s everybody else overrating his upside because he was a rookie and forgetting he was already 22.

I don't think Kuzma has as much upside as Lakers fans (and the media) want us to believe, but there is little doubt that Ingram projects as a much better long-term prospect than Rozier and would be the trump card in any offer unless we include Brown.

[Valid]

So if nobody budges, do the spurs just play out the year and hope leonard changes his mind or do they trade him for the best poo poo platter deal available?

Put it this way: I think the chances of them getting a better deal for Leonard are actually much less likely at the trade deadline than now, as teams like the Celtics and 76ers would potentially be getting a half-year rental at that point and the Lakers and Clippers would be that much closer to just being able to sign Kawhi outright in free agency.

The Spurs are really in a corner here. I still think the Lakers will eventually relent and include Ingram before the season starts (LeBron's age is a factor here), but if they don't the Spurs are screwed unless they can get him to sign the supermax, which I do not think can be completely ruled out at this stage.

[FlatearthZorro]

Ingram and Kuzma > Rozier and Sac pick.

Kuzma may be better than Rozier but would you trade the Sac pick for him? I sure as hell wouldn’t. Ingram was statistaclly worse than Rozier last year with more usage. If you compare Rozier as starter he was better. Is his value around league higher? Probably. That said, I would t trade Sac pick for any player on Lakers - maybe I’m underrating Kuzma but I think it’s everybody else overrating his upside because he was a rookie and forgetting he was already 22.

I don't think Kuzma has as much upside as Lakers fans (and the media) want us to believe, but there is little doubt that Ingram projects as a much better long-term prospect than Rozier and would be the trump card in any offer unless we include Brown.

Oh yea, for sure. That's why I thought it's weird they haven't offered him. Anyhow what's his position with the Lakers if they trade for Kawhi or sign him next offseason?? He can't play the 2 or the 4. LBJ doesn't wanna be a 4, Kawhi is not a 4 either.

[Captain_Caveman]

If Kawhi is not traded to Lakers, Lebron will be 35 when he is a free agent. What if Lakers don’t have a great season or even a very good one? What if Ingram and Ball don’t excel next to Lebron and lose even more value? As it is, I wouldn’t trade Sac19 pick for Kuzma and certainly not for a 190 lb. wing or a PG with a bum knee who can’t shoot. I think Rozier and Sac19 is better than anything LAL can offer so I am sure there will be no Kawhi to Lakers deal this year. I think Kawhi will go to Sixers and I think after playing with Simmons and Embiid he will stay.

Ingram and Kuzma > Rozier and Sac pick.

Add Deng and Smart tho.

[sully00]

Yeesh, if the headline link stuff is true, that's some mental midget bs:

He preferred the Lakers but was okay with the Clippers. Now that LeBron's in L.A., I think the idea of going head-to-head with LeBron to have you with the Clippers, him with the Lakers and to maybe feel dwarfed by that. I'm told that's become far less appealing to him.

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/250582/Kawhi-Leonard-Finds-Clippers-Less-Appealing-With-LeBron-James-Joining-Lakers

Understand a lot of this is about maximizing Leonard's marketability. Lebron sucks up a lot of air, so if your doing this to be a big deal someplace then you don't want there to be a bigger deal there already. I don't think this is all about basketball.

[ConstableGeneva]

Read on Twitter

[watsonthedragon]

Read on Twitter

More of the usual:

Boston hasn't included Jaylen Brown, sources say. As I wrote here, it might make more sense to offer Kyrie Irving or Gordon Hayward before Brown, but I don't see either happening. Boston is confident it can re-sign Irving despite chatter -- credible chatter -- that Irving and Jimmy Butler would like to play together, per league sources. They've earned such confidence.

Boston rarely cares about optics, but it must know how it would look to trade Hayward -- star free-agent acquisition, longtime Brad Stevens favorite -- coming off a traumatic leg injury.

[thelarrybirdx]

Read on Twitter

More of the usual:

Boston hasn't included Jaylen Brown, sources say. As I wrote here, it might make more sense to offer Kyrie Irving or Gordon Hayward before Brown, but I don't see either happening. Boston is confident it can re-sign Irving despite chatter -- credible chatter -- that Irving and Jimmy Butler would like to play together, per league sources. They've earned such confidence.

Boston rarely cares about optics, but it must know how it would look to trade Hayward -- star free-agent acquisition, longtime Brad Stevens favorite -- coming off a traumatic leg injury.

Starting to wonder if trading Rozier before Kyrie re-signs would be a mistake.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

[djFan71]

Yeesh, if the headline link stuff is true, that's some mental midget bs:

He preferred the Lakers but was okay with the Clippers. Now that LeBron's in L.A., I think the idea of going head-to-head with LeBron to have you with the Clippers, him with the Lakers and to maybe feel dwarfed by that. I'm told that's become far less appealing to him.

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/250582/Kawhi-Leonard-Finds-Clippers-Less-Appealing-With-LeBron-James-Joining-Lakers

Understand a lot of this is about maximizing Leonard's marketability. Lebron sucks up a lot of air, so if your doing this to be a big deal someplace then you don't want there to be a bigger deal there already. I don't think this is all about basketball.

Yep, I'm with you. But, this whole thing has done the exact opposite of maximizing his marketability. He's a clam, his uncle's crazy and he looks like he is damaged goods or a petulant holdout. Not sure what sponsor goes near him til he rebuilds his image. And his supermax is gone. But, who knows if that report is even close to true anyways.

[TommyPoints]

Read on Twitter

More of the usual:

Boston hasn't included Jaylen Brown, sources say. As I wrote here, it might make more sense to offer Kyrie Irving or Gordon Hayward before Brown, but I don't see either happening. Boston is confident it can re-sign Irving despite chatter -- credible chatter -- that Irving and Jimmy Butler would like to play together, per league sources. They've earned such confidence.

Boston rarely cares about optics, but it must know how it would look to trade Hayward -- star free-agent acquisition, longtime Brad Stevens favorite -- coming off a traumatic leg injury.

Starting to wonder if trading Rozier before Kyrie re-signs would be a mistake.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

Not if it lands us a player like Kawhi.

[aim2please]

Spurs will win the Leonard trade when it's all set and done.

I love the brave face Lakers have put on. We should all believe that soon to be 34 year old James is cool waiting a year, playing with kids, Lance and Rondo and throw away one of the few great years he has left. Cool story.

[K For Three]

Read on Twitter

More of the usual:

Boston hasn't included Jaylen Brown, sources say. As I wrote here, it might make more sense to offer Kyrie Irving or Gordon Hayward before Brown, but I don't see either happening. Boston is confident it can re-sign Irving despite chatter -- credible chatter -- that Irving and Jimmy Butler would like to play together, per league sources. They've earned such confidence.

Boston rarely cares about optics, but it must know how it would look to trade Hayward -- star free-agent acquisition, longtime Brad Stevens favorite -- coming off a traumatic leg injury.

Credible chatter?

I find it amazing the media runs off with the Irving/Butler thing but always forget to mention that Irving/Hayward tried to pair up in Cleveland before Lebron came back from Miami. But lets ignore that, since of course the birthday twins and current teammates probably don't even like each other much, right?

It's as if the media is dying to get Irving and big names in general in New York and dorky virgin fans online run off with it along with the NY Post. Irving will be off to the Nets with Bozo the Clown in a week. Or the Knicks since he once complimented Kristap Porzingis. Since when a great player says another great player is great, it automatically means they want to pair up on the same team and get married.

Paul George is from LA. He was dying to live his boyhood dream of playing in LA.......

[FakeScreenName123]

It's gotta be the 76ers who end up with him. They are the most desperate team + they have coach/trainer connections