The Board Man Cometh!! Kawhi Leonard Signs 3 Year (2+1), $103 Million Deal

Young Sterling · Post #261 » by **Young Sterling** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 2:28 pm

I imagine the Warriors are happy lol? Toronto is a nice city, Kawhi seems to be a bit of an introvert and as a live and die in LA introvert I could definitely enjoy TO. Canada is beautiful. That being said... At least going forward now we can not only develop our rooks, but also have Tobias Harris' bird rights. Now we can sign some quality players next year (Kawhi/some max + quality role players) while going over the cap for Tobi! If we're lucky, we might even snag another pick. Plus most importantly, he didn't go to the Lakers... Although Toronto can trade him for some quality pieces now if it wanted. This is actually a pretty decent situation for the Clippers going forward. Well, barring some unprecedented stuff. I also like how Jerry kept reaching out to Kawhi's camp to show he was "moving mountains" to sign him. If anything that just goes to show Kawhi (who reportedly prefers the Clippers over the Lakers) how much the Clippers valued him.

Post #262 » by **og15** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 2:33 pm

Good deal for SA. A player who basically sat out most of a season, says he won't sign with 90% of the teams in the league, is coming off an injury and who the two teams in the place he wants to go will have cap space for him as a FA. Can't see where they could realistically have done better value wise. Sure people will post theoretically better trades, but if those better trades were being offered they would have taken them.

It will be interesting to see DeRozan with Pop, might be the biggest winner here tbh. This allows the Spurs to still be very good in the regular season, playoffs, well, we'll see.

I don't like how Toronto did Derozan though, he's really helped pump up the city, etc, even if he underperforms in the playoffs, he had been a good asset to the franchise. Should have been honest with him at least.

TucsonClip · Post #263 » by **TucsonClip** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 6:20 pm

This was a Spurs-ish move, but I also like it from the Raptors.

Spurs are still relevant, DeRozan fits into the "never rebuild" philosophy the Spurs have had going. Pretty easy to roll the dice on a guy who can either carry your franchise into the future if he decides to stick around, or a pretty no-brainer deal for an elite player. Hell, even if he barely plays, the Raptors are nearing the cliff of a full rebuild either way. They arent re-signing Lowry and Ibaka to long deals. They are likely gone, and now they dont have to worry about DeRozan picking up his option when they are entering a rebuild.

Wammy Giveaway · Post #264 » by **Wammy Giveaway** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 7:36 pm

With the Raptors trading DeMar DeRozan to the San Antonio Spurs, breaking their trust with the franchise star player, it is possible the Raptors could be tanking this season for a top 3 pick in their quest to acquire R.J. Barrett. Kawhi Leonard has no desire to play for the Raptors, so he could be re-traded. When I read the news, I thought the Clippers missed out, which would have made this the first ever fail for the great Logo Jerry West. But you also have to understand that the Spurs have always made the right moves, even when the franchise seems to be floundering. One fundamental rule for general managers is to never trade your franchise player to your rivals, especially your arch nemesis, and make them stronger than you. The Spurs have always sent disgruntled players to the opposite side of the conference or to a lottery team in the west; regardless, it's to a team that poses no threat to San Antonio whatsoever (unless they are reacquainted in the Finals). If the Raptors are to indeed tank for a draft pick, then Toronto meets the Spur's criteria.

I know what you're thinking. The Lakers are going to get Leonard because they're the legacy team, the team who always gets their guys, and are about to rule the NBA with an iron fist once again with the Celtics by their side. Now we have two dynasties to deal with. But here's something we're missing. Under the Spurs, the Clippers would have had to do a Daryl Morey-Chris Paul farm trade with the Clippers trying their best Rockets impression by trading 8 players, a pick and cash (something Doc Rivers has been a part of under Danny Ainge's trade for Kevin Garnett). By Toronto taking Leonard, this eases the Clipper's price demands a tad, maybe just one of their fresh picks while improving their dump value (ie, expiring contracts and dead weights like Sam Dekker and Wesley Johnson).

And then you have the greatest dead weight of them all (figuratively speaking, of course):

When Masai Ujiri was a general manager for the Nuggets (2010-2013), one of the blockbuster trades he achieved in Denver was trading Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks for Danilo Gallinari. The two years Galli made the playoffs, including the lost season for 2012-13 for recovering from an ACL injury, he made them under Ujiri. Ever since Ujiri left to Toronto, Gallinari has never made the playoffs on his own. This could be a talking point in the Clipper's bidding war for Leonard: if the Raptors are considering to tank the season and rebuild, Gallinari can help them with that.

Post #265 » by **mkwest** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 7:41 pm

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Post #266 » by **TrueLAfan** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 8:01 pm

Yes, there are (a lot) of rumors that Kawhi is/has already indicated that he doesn’t want to play for the Raptors beyond this year. He certainly didn’t ever say that he *wanted* to play there. Essentially, this is a one year rental where the Raptors need to do well enough to convince Kawhi to stay in a place he doesn’t seem to want to be.

I may get grilled a bit for this, but I was never wild about our supposed pursuit of Kawhi. You have a badly injured player with a relatively unknown injury who, both as an individual and with his “camp,” did not communicate well with his team or teammates. (I’ll leave the Spurs organization and players and their response and actions out of this.) He’s got one year left on his deal and there are conflicting reports about where he would “like” to go (with Toronto *not* being one of them) including the Clips. That makes him a potential rental.

You don’t bet the farm to get a player like that. I always thought the supposed offer of Tobias and both picks was ridiculous, and the Raptors offer shows it. DeRozan is a very good—not elite—player. He’s measurably better than Tobias—but gets paid over $10 million more next season, and is owed over $83 million in the three seasons after that. Put it this way—I’d offer Tobias Harris a 4 year $85 million deal after this season. Tobias Harris plus $7-10 million in cap space a year is equal to DeRozan IMO. And the Raptors added Jakob Poetl, who is effective but can’t stay on the court long. Is he more valuable than Danny Green, who the Raptors are also getting? Dunno. And the Spurs get a pick that‘s protected next year, so will likely be in the mid-to-high 20s. Tobias and two lottery picks for Kawhi alone was much, much, more IMO.

I actually think that, for the Raptors, it’s a good deal. They probably peaked at around 60 wins with DeRozan; Leonard gives them a (short) opportunity to try and improve that. If they can, great. If they don’t make the finals next season, Leonard and Green will likely be gone and the Raptors will have lots and lots of FA money. It’s the risk that a team that’s almost but not quite good enough to make it to the Finals takes; I applaud them for taking it.

From our perspective—like I said, the offers we were supposedly making for Kawhi were far too high IMO. This was our problem with Blake, and it’s problem in the NBA. There’s a max contract. But the fact is that some players are worth their max/borderline max deals that really aren’t elite players. Demar DeRozan is more or less worth his deal, and he’s a good player. But he’s not as valuable as, say, Anthony Davis or Giannis or even Paul George, much less Durant, LeBron, Harden, etc. There are certain max players you *do* bet the farm on. And there are certain players that, for various reasons, are really good—but aren’t focal players. Blake Griffin is a really good player, but I don’t think he was (or will) ever going to be the centerpiece of a title team. You can pay a player like that Max money, but only if you’ve got a real Alpha superstar.

And, even better, only if you’ve got a very, very good third piece. This where Tobias fits in. I think Tobias Harris could be the third and borderline second best player on a 60+ win team that could get to the Finals. Combine Anthony Davis, Tobias Harris and Khris Middleton—that’s your Big 3. Spend $75-78 million on them, and with SGA, Jerome, Harrell, Lou, Thornwell, and the #12 draft pick in 2019 (Jontay Porter? Daniel Gafford?), you’ve got about $100 million tied up in salaries on a very young, very skilled team … enough to go after a couple of veterans that would make that team a terror. A f**king terror.

You disagree about Kawhi—you think he’s a legitimate superstar that can carry a team? Fine. Wait until next year. Odds are he will leave Toronto. Replace Davis and Middleton from the above scenario with Leonard and Myles Turner (who I think will breakout next year, along with Sabonis—and the Pacers can’t pay/play both). First day of free agency, offer Turner a five year/$110 million deal. Same cost. Same outcome.

So, basically, I’m down with Kawhi going to Toronto. I think the key to the Clippers’ future rests with the guy whose name is pretty much unmentioned on the boards in terms of next season. That would be Danilo Gallinari.

Post #267 » by **mkwest** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 10:09 pm

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TheNewEra · Post #268 » by **TheNewEra** » Sat Jul 21, 2018 1:08 am

mkwest wrote:
Ranma wrote:

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Lmao Blake with the shade

Post #269 » by **mkwest** » Wed Aug 1, 2018 4:50 am

Ranking top available 2019 NBA free agents (with possible star landing spots)

Kawhi Leonard: As has been well-documented, the task for Toronto in the coming year is to persuade Leonard to stay in a place and perform for a team for which he had no desire to play just a few short weeks ago. It’s a tall order, and if the Raptors can do it, the massive gamble they took this month will have paid off.

Most around the league still expect that Leonard will look to return home to Southern California, either to join LeBron James with the Lakers or bring his star power to the Clippers.

Sean Deveney, Sporting News

Ranma · Post #270 » by **Ranma** » Tue Aug 21, 2018 12:36 am

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Quake Griffin · Post #271 » by **Quake Griffin** » Tue Aug 21, 2018 2:37 am

Well, we've fired Bowen.
Now all we have to do is hire Castleberry next offseason.

and the next 15 things Kawhi decides will make him happy whenever he feels like letting them be known.

Ranma · Post #272 » by **Ranma** » Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:44 pm

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Quake Griffin · Post #273 » by **Quake Griffin** » Wed Aug 22, 2018 1:43 am

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Ranma · Post #274 » by **Ranma** » Wed Aug 22, 2018 7:28 pm

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Popovich · Post #275 » by **Popovich** » Thu Aug 23, 2018 4:11 pm

Apparently Kawhi Leonard said this >>>> https://ytcropper.com/cropped/Ck5b7edc1e6b45c

Popovich · Post #276 » by **Popovich** » Thu Aug 23, 2018 4:14 pm

Ranma wrote:

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I don't think he will join LAC but in case he does than Boban Marjanovic will have someone with whom he can shake hands normally , right ?

Ranma · Post #277 » by **Ranma** » Mon Aug 27, 2018 8:35 pm

The Woj Pod

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Post #278 » by **mkwest** » Fri Sep 7, 2018 8:27 pm

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Ranma · Post #279 » by **Ranma** » Sat Sep 15, 2018 8:36 am

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esqtvd · Post #280 » by **esqtvd** » Sun Sep 16, 2018 8:31 am

I have no idea how Ramona can know because I doubt Kawhi does.

I do think a .500 team with a good vibe might swing it. I'm not sure money and rings are what make Kawhi tick. He might prefer something that feels like home, in LA location, some good dudes to hang with, and without the huge pressure of the mentality of anything short of a championship being considered a failure, as Lakerdom is.

Kawhi's a different kind of bird.