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

[Banks2Pierce]

Disagree. Derozan while having good athleticism, his game is not based on any ability as a high flyer. He's more in the "Pierce-mold".

Similar on the rim/power stuff, but Pierce could always shoot and defend. Derozan can't do either.

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

Also, LOL @ all the Raptors fans criticizing Ainge for dealing IT. Masai looked DD in the face and said he wont be trading him. And then did it. Time to crash off your pedestal’s.

Great point. Ainge has been trashed so hard for not having loyalty, but what Masai did, while understandable, was cold blooded.

Will be interesting to hear if Masai gets the same kind of treatment and if people bring it up every time the Raptors are mentioned with free agents in the future.

Masai took off to Africa for the NBA global showcase too, so he gets to hide from Demar as well. Lol

[Valid]

Disagree. Derozan while having good athleticism, his game is not based on any ability as a high flyer. He's more in the "Pierce-mold".

Similar on the rim/power stuff, but Pierce could always shoot and defend. Derozan can't do either.

And fun fact: DeMar DeRozan has only posted a positive net rating ONCE in his career, and it was all the way back in 2012.

Can we stop pretending this dude is good?

[jfs1000d]

Can't believe that was the best they could do.

That's a terrible deal for SA. They're screwed.

I can believe it. KL really put the spurs in a tough spot by saying he is leaving for the Lakers. Who knows if it will happen but is was enough to scare teams off and limit the spurs options. KL apparently doesn't want to play for the raps so this already isn't off to a great start.

I don't think it is the bad for the spurs. I think DD is a solid player.

They got an F'in all-star for Leonard. Where else were they getting that?

I mean, seriously, draft picks aren't that valuable now.

You guys love rookies and every pick is going to a potential superstar. DeRozan is a 20 plus PPG scorer and is going to score in bunches with the spurs. Holy crap is he going to do well there.

No one was offering as good a player as DeMar Derozan. You people are crazy if you think the spurs got off poorly. Considering he didn't want to play for them, didn't play last year at all. They got a star wing.

[amory87]

So when Kawhi leaves for LA next year the East will end up with a net loss of star power yet again lol

[FlatearthZorro]

Yea close this **** now. It's done. GL to the Raptors, hope Kawhi comes to TOR and doesn't decide to sit out another season.(lol)

[Edug27]

Well let's see. Pop and Buford turned this dumpster fire into a Top 15 All-NBA player (whatever your personal biases are) who can get you 25/5/5, the #9 pick in the draft from 2 years ago and a conditional 1st round pick. They get the added bonus of giving both LAL/Magic and Kawhi himself the middle finger for all their crap. I think San Antonio did a TREMENDOUS job in this deal. And that's before you even get to their team now.

DM (All-Defensive), DDM, RG, LMA, Gasol with Mills, Belli, Manu, and Poertl off the bench. San Antonio was what- 6th last year without Kawhi/DDM, 3 games out from 3rd? Houston got worse this offseason. Besides Golden State, tell me a team in the West that they're not at least on par with? And Pop is still Pop on the bench.

Seems obvious right?

I think what we're seeing is a lot of Celtics fans let their bias influence their objectivity here. Yes Derozan has choked against Lebron. But that doesn't change that he's still an All-NBA player in the PRIME of his career. It's not like they acquired a 34 year-old player. Derozan is in his BEST years with the BEST coach in the business. He's pissed now but he's a pro and once he accepts it and calms down, he will go down there and help re-establish the Spurs as a threat again.

Whoa. You watch your mouth. Brad is the best in the business.

[sully00]

Dude. Think about that risk, look at it on paper. San Antonio makes mistakes, but if they pulled the trigger on this, it certainly was the best option on the table.

Well let's see. Pop and Buford turned this dumpster fire into a Top 15 All-NBA player (whatever your personal biases are) who can get you 25/5/5, the #9 pick in the draft from 2 years ago and a conditional 1st round pick. They get the added bonus of giving both LAL/Magic and Kawhi himself the middle finger for all their crap. I think San Antonio did a TREMENDOUS job in this deal. And that's before you even get to their team now.

DM (All-Defensive), DDM, RG, LMA, Gasol with Mills, Belli, Manu, and Poertl off the bench. San Antonio was what- 6th last year without Kawhi/DDM, 3 games out from 3rd? Houston got worse this offseason. Besides Golden State, tell me a team in the West that they're not at least on par with? And Pop is still Pop on the bench.

DeRozan is in no way, shape or form a top 15 player in the league. He is a terrible shooter, a horrific defender and a playoff choker on a bad contract. The dude just got benched in the playoffs, for crying out loud. This was an awful deal for the Spurs.

If DeRozan were really that dude, the Raptors wouldn't have just gotten swept by the Cavs.

I think the playoff choker thing is a little strong. Based on losing to Lebron then Celtics are the most choking franchise going. What are they 1 and 15 in the playoffs against him? He is a 4 time All Star and was 2nd team All NBA this year and 3rd All NBA last year. He isn't a top 5 guy and he is 28 years old but he is still a hell of a player easily one of the 15 best players in the game. He has also missed like 8 games in the last 3 years that is something in itself.

His contract is fine he is going into year 3 of a 5 year deal with the year 5 a player option and he will likely opt out his deal is also flat so he makes several mil less than signing a max FA off the street.

If the Spurs bottom out they lose Popovich. This will likely keep him on the bench. They won 47 games without Leonard they could be a top 4 team in the West with DeRozan and he will be a better more efficient player in SA almost everyone is.

[DoubleHappiness]

Seems obvious right?

I think what we're seeing is a lot of Celtics fans let their bias influence their objectivity here. Yes Derozan has choked against Lebron. But that doesn't change that he's still an All-NBA player in the PRIME of his career. It's not like they acquired a 34 year-old player. Derozan is in his BEST years with the BEST coach in the business. He's pissed now but he's a pro and once he accepts it and calms down, he will go down there and help re-establish the Spurs as a threat again.

How is it biased when we are saying that the Raptors smoked the Spurs in this deal? It would be biased if we were saying it the other way around. DeRozan isn't very good. He had a minus-2.7 net rating this past year.

I'm going to withhold judgement until I see DDR on the floor, because Pop is a badass. He made the playoffs with a team centered around LaMarcus, Rudy Gay, and some corpses.

[bucknersrevenge]

Dude. Think about that risk, look at it on paper. San Antonio makes mistakes, but if they pulled the trigger on this, it certainly was the best option on the table.

Well let's see. Pop and Buford turned this dumpster fire into a Top 15 All-NBA player (whatever your personal biases are) who can get you 25/5/5, the #9 pick in the draft from 2 years ago and a conditional 1st round pick. They get the added bonus of giving both LAL/Magic and Kawhi himself the middle finger for all their crap. I think San Antonio did a TREMENDOUS job in this deal. And that's before you even get to their team now.

DM (All-Defensive), DDM, RG, LMA, Gasol with Mills, Belli, Manu, and Poertl off the bench. San Antonio was what- 6th last year without Kawhi/DDM, 3 games out from 3rd? Houston got worse this offseason. Besides Golden State, tell me a team in the West that they're not at least on par with? And Pop is still Pop on the bench.

DeRozan is in no way, shape or form a top 15 player in the league. He is a terrible shooter, a horrific defender and a playoff choker on a bad contract. The dude just got benched in the playoffs, for crying out loud. This was an awful deal for the Spurs.

If DeRozan were really that dude, the Raptors wouldn't have just gotten swept by the Cavs.

Sorry. Cannot disagree more. He's not a great 3 point shooter but Derozan is a 2-time All-NBA guy, 4-time All-Star 24/4/4 over the last 3 years. He's in his prime. Former Olympian. Getting benched in a single playoff game doesn't change that. This is bias and that's fine. San Antonio wasn't going to get anything better than an All-Star in his prime when Philly wouldn't even put Markelle Fultz on the table.

[KGboss]

Came in just to see the status of Afam.

How we doing, buddy?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[bucknersrevenge]

Seems obvious right?

I think what we're seeing is a lot of Celtics fans let their bias influence their objectivity here. Yes Derozan has choked against Lebron. But that doesn't change that he's still an All-NBA player in the PRIME of his career. It's not like they acquired a 34 year-old player. Derozan is in his BEST years with the BEST coach in the business. He's pissed now but he's a pro and once he accepts it and calms down, he will go down there and help re-establish the Spurs as a threat again.

How is it biased when we are saying that the Raptors smoked the Spurs in this deal? It would be biased if we were saying it the other way around. DeRozan isn't very good. He had a minus-2.7 net rating this past year.

Because some people are gonna be biased about Raptors players that they have been crapping on for years because Toronto is a chief rival. Plus there is recency bias. They got beat by Lebron again. DeRozan is an incredibly talented player who is a 4-time All-Star that Pop gets to work with in the prime of his career. Not worried about his defense in Pop's structure. His main job will be make plays which he's gonna make a ton of in San Antionio. He'll be playing with the best big man he's ever played with. San Antonio has one of the best staffs in the league.

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

Well let's see. Pop and Buford turned this dumpster fire into a Top 15 All-NBA player (whatever your personal biases are) who can get you 25/5/5, the #9 pick in the draft from 2 years ago and a conditional 1st round pick. They get the added bonus of giving both LAL/Magic and Kawhi himself the middle finger for all their crap. I think San Antonio did a TREMENDOUS job in this deal. And that's before you even get to their team now.

DM (All-Defensive), DDM, RG, LMA, Gasol with Mills, Belli, Manu, and Poertl off the bench. San Antonio was what- 6th last year without Kawhi/DDM, 3 games out from 3rd? Houston got worse this offseason. Besides Golden State, tell me a team in the West that they're not at least on par with? And Pop is still Pop on the bench.

DeRozan is in no way, shape or form a top 15 player in the league. He is a terrible shooter, a horrific defender and a playoff choker on a bad contract. The dude just got benched in the playoffs, for crying out loud. This was an awful deal for the Spurs.

If DeRozan were really that dude, the Raptors wouldn't have just gotten swept by the Cavs.

Sorry. Cannot disagree more. He's not a great 3 point shooter but Derozan is a 2-time All-NBA guy, 4-time All-Star 24/4/4 over the last 3 years. He's in his prime. Former Olympian. Getting benched in a single playoff game doesn't change that. This is bias and that's fine. San Antonio wasn't going to get anything better than an All-Star in his prime when Philly wouldn't even put Markelle Fultz on the table.

There are some Raptors fans who are absolutely pumped that Demar is gone. It reminds me of last season - there were some people who were upset about IT getting dealt for Kyrie because he was putting up 30 ppg. However, there was a contingent that was more than happy to see IT go because of his defensive shortcomings. I see the same thing with Demar - the numbers on the back of his basketball cards look great, but if you took a deep dive and followed the Raptors over the years, you'd see that those stats are kind of empty. He is Carmelo Anthony without the 3 point shot. He can score, but doesn't make his teammates better, doesn't try on defense, and doesn't do much to provide leadership.

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

Came in just to see the status of Afam.

How we doing, buddy?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

He is going to be upset, because he is going to say that Ainge could have easily beaten Toronto's offer, and that if Toronto was willing to risk trading for a rental, then we should have too. Am I right or am I wrong? The answer - it will eventually be both, based on his wishy-washy posting habits.

[leper-con]

It became obvious that The Spurs were not going to deal with the Lakers. They ultimately took a lesser deal or the best deal they could find.
The Spurs did two things here. One they should who is in control of their franchise and two delayed the Lakers a year from surrounding Lebron with another allstar. Ultimately age and Mileage will catch even Lebron.

[bucknersrevenge]

Well let's see. Pop and Buford turned this dumpster fire into a Top 15 All-NBA player (whatever your personal biases are) who can get you 25/5/5, the #9 pick in the draft from 2 years ago and a conditional 1st round pick. They get the added bonus of giving both LAL/Magic and Kawhi himself the middle finger for all their crap. I think San Antonio did a TREMENDOUS job in this deal. And that's before you even get to their team now.

DM (All-Defensive), DDM, RG, LMA, Gasol with Mills, Belli, Manu, and Poertl off the bench. San Antonio was what- 6th last year without Kawhi/DDM, 3 games out from 3rd? Houston got worse this offseason. Besides Golden State, tell me a team in the West that they're not at least on par with? And Pop is still Pop on the bench.

DeRozan is in no way, shape or form a top 15 player in the league. He is a terrible shooter, a horrific defender and a playoff choker on a bad contract. The dude just got benched in the playoffs, for crying out loud. This was an awful deal for the Spurs.

If DeRozan were really that dude, the Raptors wouldn't have just gotten swept by the Cavs.

I think the playoff choker thing is a little strong. Based on losing to Lebron then Celtics are the most choking franchise going. What are they 1 and 15 in the playoffs against him? He is a 4 time All Star and was 2nd team All NBA this year and 3rd All NBA last year. He isn't a top 5 guy and he is 28 years old but he is still a hell of a player easily one of the 15 best players in the game. He has also missed like 8 games in the last 3 years that is something in itself.

His contract is fine he is going into year 3 of a 5 year deal with the year 5 a player option and he will likely opt out his deal is also flat so he makes several mil less than signing a max FA off the street.

If the Spurs bottom out they lose Popovich. This will likely keep him on the bench. They won 47 games without Leonard they could be a top 4 team in the West with DeRozan and he will be a better more efficient player in SA almost everyone is.

Exactly. He's extremely dependable and I'd be shocked if he didn't have his most efficient season as a pro this upcoming season. His resume is virtually unimpeachable for Top 15 status. I get that we have to crap on Raptor players and laugh at them when they do bad but talent is talent.

[London2Boston]

Kawhi and my boy OG are a nice couple of wings to throw on Hayward and Tatum. I still think we have too much firepower for them, but they had become much better now...... good thing it’s for only one year

[Valid]

DeRozan is in no way, shape or form a top 15 player in the league. He is a terrible shooter, a horrific defender and a playoff choker on a bad contract. The dude just got benched in the playoffs, for crying out loud. This was an awful deal for the Spurs.

If DeRozan were really that dude, the Raptors wouldn't have just gotten swept by the Cavs.

I think the playoff choker thing is a little strong. Based on losing to Lebron then Celtics are the most choking franchise going. What are they 1 and 15 in the playoffs against him? He is a 4 time All Star and was 2nd team All NBA this year and 3rd All NBA last year. He isn't a top 5 guy and he is 28 years old but he is still a hell of a player easily one of the 15 best players in the game. He has also missed like 8 games in the last 3 years that is something in itself.

His contract is fine he is going into year 3 of a 5 year deal with the year 5 a player option and he will likely opt out his deal is also flat so he makes several mil less than signing a max FA off the street.

If the Spurs bottom out they lose Popovich. This will likely keep him on the bench. They won 47 games without Leonard they could be a top 4 team in the West with DeRozan and he will be a better more efficient player in SA almost everyone is.

Exactly. He's extremely dependable and I'd be shocked if he didn't have his most efficient season as a pro this upcoming season. His resume is virtually unimpeachable for Top 15 status. I get that we have to crap on Raptor players and laugh at them when they do bad but talent is talent.

Top 15 players don't post negative net ratings every single year. He has only had ONE season with a positive net rating and it was all the way back in 2012.

DeMar DeRozan isn't good.

This has nothing to do with hating the Raptors because I personally couldn't care less about Toronto. It's about facts.

[BRUNiNHO91]

Toronto went out and bummed DeRozan the same way he bummed them the last 3 or 4 playoffs.

I like the Danny Green get. They didn't even have to give OG..great deal for the Raptors.

Lowry, Green, Kawhi, Ibaka and JV..FVF, CJ, OG, Siakam off the bench..need one more big in there off the bench. If Kawhi plays like he wants to be there, that's a tough team to beat.

[bucknersrevenge]

DeRozan is in no way, shape or form a top 15 player in the league. He is a terrible shooter, a horrific defender and a playoff choker on a bad contract. The dude just got benched in the playoffs, for crying out loud. This was an awful deal for the Spurs.

If DeRozan were really that dude, the Raptors wouldn't have just gotten swept by the Cavs.

Sorry. Cannot disagree more. He's not a great 3 point shooter but Derozan is a 2-time All-NBA guy, 4-time All-Star 24/4/4 over the last 3 years. He's in his prime. Former Olympian. Getting benched in a single playoff game doesn't change that. This is bias and that's fine. San Antonio wasn't going to get anything better than an All-Star in his prime when Philly wouldn't even put Markelle Fultz on the table.

There are some Raptors fans who are absolutely pumped that Demar is gone. It reminds me of last season - there were some people who were upset about IT getting dealt for Kyrie because he was putting up 30 ppg. However, there was a contingent that was more than happy to see IT go because of his defensive shortcomings. I see the same thing with Demar - the numbers on the back of his basketball cards look great, but if you took a deep dive and followed the Raptors over the years, you'd see that those stats are kind of empty. He is Carmelo Anthony without the 3 point shot. He can score, but doesn't make his teammates better, doesn't try on defense, and doesn't do much to provide leadership.

I won't discount the posibility of any of those things and still say that Pop made a great trade. And furthermore you get him in that San Antonio culture and it's gonna do what it always does and that's players better. It will hide his weaknesses and highlight his strengths in ways Toronto couldn't dream of.