The case to trade Kawhi at the deadline and why we should be sellers

[Raptorfan2012]

Unless the Clippers offer us a beautiful package that includes SGA and Harris, we aren't moving Kawhi.

Harris is also expiring.

That is fine. IMO we can still make some noise in the playoffs with Harris, and Harris may still re-sign with us. Main target is SGA and whatever young pieces they can offer up.

[OAKLEY_2]

I'm sure some people will say you sound ridiculous but the Raptors are 17-12 since starting 20-4.

They've been mediocre for 2 months now.

If we go past the deadline without some sort of a shake up this team is doomed for another 2nd round flame out

Most concerning is we look like we do every year at this time. But... This year has seen a lot of people on the shelf. 17-12 considering the injuries is good news. Lowry? He's outta shape and admits as much. A Lin and DRose shake up would go a long way to restoring our edge. We just have to know what the tweaks are that are needed. Fred Delon will not bring us to glory but they are decent late rotation pieces. Our bench compared to last year sux and will a non presence come playoff when Nurse goes 8 men deep.

[SirKen]

Anyone that thinks Kawhi Leonard is bad on defense is a moron.

I think it is not so much that he is bad on defense as it is that he does not seem to be healthy still. He looked like he was getting his legs back and then there was that injury a few games back. He seemed to have lost his legs again.

It is either that or he is trying not to risk injury before he leaves. Neither situation bodes well for us.

[NoZoLakers]

2nd best record in the east, still solid chance to have best record in the east....NO chance in hell any GM/Pres moves a star like Leonard....OKC has a much worse record this time last yr and they didn't even consider moving PG. Besides as a Laker fan, if I were magic and I hear Masai calling to offer up Leonard I'm not offering any youth for Leonard, now I pretty much know I have legit chance at Kawhi in the off season. LAC might be a different story as they need Kawhi now as well to bolster their FA pitch to get the 2nd max, so I could see them being interested in doing an SGA/Harris combo for Leonard, this gives them a head start to FA recruiting. Magic main goal is still AD, regardless of Pelican not taking the deal this season, he'll save it still for the summer

[MikeM]

The plan is to form a sustainable championship core by trading Kawhi for Kuzma, Ingram, etc?

Did I read that correctly?

[TheAlchemist]

The plan is to form a sustainable championship core by trading Kawhi for Kuzma, Ingram, etc?

Did I read that correctly?

You read it wrong.

The plan is to jump start an actual rebuild, because the chances of re-signing Kawhi is quite frankly slim to none. That is compounded with the issue that this season might just be a failed attempt because Kyle Lowry is not interested / playing hard enough, we have a lack of secondary option, and our offensive/defensive play looks quite lacking.

Kuzma, Ingram, Siakim, as well as multiple first round picks and some really good assets we get in return for Kyle/Ibaka/JV, is a great great way to jump start a solid rebuild.

[lobosloboslobos]

I don't think it will ever happen, and I don't think it should happen. This is as close to being a legit contender as we have ever been. Sure we are playing like crap lately, but i would argue that the two biggest reasons are that our leader has been sucking and one of our key guys has been hurt. We need to stick with what we have, hope Lowry plays great instead of crap and that Jonas comes back and makes an impact and every one else ups their game and that we get back to how we were in the first 30 games not the last 20. Will it happen? Quite possibly not. But it is possible, and if it did we'd come out of the east and then anything is possible. So no.

Having said all that, I'm surprised how reasonable and compelling the argument in favor trading him is.

[Carlton Banksy]

Anyone that thinks Kawhi Leonard is bad on defense is a moron.

I think it is not so much that he is bad on defense as it is that he does not seem to be healthy still. He looked like he was getting his legs back and then there was that injury a few games back. He seemed to have lost his legs again.

It is either that or he is trying not to risk injury before he leaves. Neither situation bodes well for us.

I remember much earlier in the season somebody from the Spurs board said that Kawhi has always played very stiff when returning from injuries & takes a few games to get back into his rythm. That's generally proven to be true this year, so I try to keep it in mind when watching him after he misses games.

[MFS]

Trade him.. He gone!
https://youtu.be/SkmuGRICOLY?t=894

[MikeM]

The plan is to form a sustainable championship core by trading Kawhi for Kuzma, Ingram, etc?

Did I read that correctly?

You read it wrong.

The plan is to jump start an actual rebuild, because the chances of re-signing Kawhi is quite frankly slim to none. That is compounded with the issue that this season might just be a failed attempt because Kyle Lowry is not interested / playing hard enough, we have a lack of secondary option, and our offensive/defensive play looks quite lacking.

Kuzma, Ingram, Siakim, as well as multiple first round picks and some really good assets we get in return for Kyle/Ibaka/JV, is a great great way to jump start a solid rebuild.

hmmm.. not so sure about that one. You can't trade them for prospects, you have to match salaries.

Also, Ingram is almost a RFA. Gotta pay him $20M+.

Rather tank than sign Kuzma/Ingram long-term.

[sca]

You guys are pathetic.

[jimmy keys]

This is actually one of the dumbest threads I've ever read on RealGM. That's an impressive feat given the typical drivel posted on this forum.

[jimmy keys]

The plan is to form a sustainable championship core by trading Kawhi for Kuzma, Ingram, etc?

Did I read that correctly?

You read it wrong.

The plan is to jump start an actual rebuild, because the chances of re-signing Kawhi is quite frankly slim to none. That is compounded with the issue that this season might just be a failed attempt because Kyle Lowry is not interested / playing hard enough, we have a lack of secondary option, and our offensive/defensive play looks quite lacking.

Kuzma, Ingram, Siakim, as well as multiple first round picks and some really good assets we get in return for Kyle/Ibaka/JV, is a great great way to jump start a solid rebuild.

No it's a great way to treadmill for the foreseeable future. Just an awful thread all around. Do you lack confidence in life?

[J8Ball]

**** dumbass knee jerk reaction, lol, the east is wide open and we have the playoff experience to win and make the NBA finals. First we have to be healthy, second we have to find the right lineup and shorten our bench. The playoff is all about overcoming pressure, we have players on this team that's been there and knows how to win. We not trading of selling anything this season, we commit Ed to see this thing till the end, whether Kawh is here next year is irrelevant, now stop with that bull, it's embarrassing.

+1

Sent from my Pixel 2 using RealGM mobile app

[Throwback24]

Starts and ends with Lowry. I'd rather extract value than get booted out by the Celtics. Sigh.

[TheAlchemist]

The plan is to form a sustainable championship core by trading Kawhi for Kuzma, Ingram, etc?

Did I read that correctly?

You read it wrong.

The plan is to jump start an actual rebuild, because the chances of re-signing Kawhi is quite frankly slim to none. That is compounded with the issue that this season might just be a failed attempt because Kyle Lowry is not interested / playing hard enough, we have a lack of secondary option, and our offensive/defensive play looks quite lacking.

Kuzma, Ingram, Siakim, as well as multiple first round picks and some really good assets we get in return for Kyle/Ibaka/JV, is a great great way to jump start a solid rebuild.

No it's a great way to treadmill for the foreseeable future. Just an awful thread all around. Do you lack confidence in life?

Ask your girl, she'll tell you.

[TheAlchemist]

Some of the most immature responses come from this board.

It's like all logic is thrown out by the pure emotion of the moment.

This season showed exactly why a "threadmill" is the basis of a contendor. You build and build until you get a good chance to thrive.

Look at what Dallas just did. Sure they had one bad season, but they retooled quick, with a potential for a Porzingis and Luka lineup.

Houston at one point had Yao Ming AND T-mac. But they retooled.

The whole purpose of this season is to go ALL in. If Lowry is acting like a b**** and is horrible trash now, we haven't gone ALL in.

At this point barring a trade or a miraculous chemistry change between Lowry and Kawhi, the chances of us even going far, are limited.

And how can we prove that we are a franchise worth it for Kawhi at that point?

It's actually having the balls and confidence to see the impending disaster ahead and mitigate it.

If we manage to get one or two players that can turn into stars, with Siakim, you do it.

I, however, agree with some posters that are saying, we go all in now.

No point in holding any assets back if that's the mentality we have.

Rebuilding with Siakim and OG alone sucks. Might as well trade them both for stars then, if we're going all in.

[gerrit4]

The plan is to form a sustainable championship core by trading Kawhi for Kuzma, Ingram, etc?

Did I read that correctly?

You read it wrong.

The plan is to jump start an actual rebuild, because the chances of re-signing Kawhi is quite frankly slim to none. That is compounded with the issue that this season might just be a failed attempt because Kyle Lowry is not interested / playing hard enough, we have a lack of secondary option, and our offensive/defensive play looks quite lacking.

Kuzma, Ingram, Siakim, as well as multiple first round picks and some really good assets we get in return for Kyle/Ibaka/JV, is a great great way to jump start a solid rebuild.

Lowry's not playing hard? He's definitely struggling this year, but he's been going hard every time he's on the court. Taking charges, getting rebounds, diving for loose balls.

You could argue he's not training hard enough (I don't see them in practice) or dieting hard enough. But he's putting it out there on the court. He just can't shoot right now.

[Mikistan]

Some of the most immature responses come from this board.

It's like all logic is thrown out by the pure emotion of the moment.

This season showed exactly why a "threadmill" isn't so. You build and build until you get a good chance to thrive.

Look at what Dallas just did. Sure they had one bad season, but they retooled quick, with a potential for a Porzingis and Luka lineup.

Houston at one point had Yao Ming AND T-mac. But they retooled.

The whole purpose of this season is to go ALL in. If Lowry is acting like a b**** and is horrible trash now, we haven't gone ALL in.

At this point barring a trade or a miraculous chemistry change between Lowry and Kawhi, the chances of us even going far, are limited.

And how can we prove that we are a franchise worth it for Kawhi at that point?

It's actually having the balls and confidence to see the impending disaster ahead and mitigate it.

If we manage to get one or two players that can turn into stars, with Siakim, you do it.

I, however, agree with some posters that are saying, we go all in now.

No point in holding any assets back if that's the mentality we have.

Rebuilding with Siakim and OG alone sucks. Might as well trade them both for stars then, if we're going all in.

Can I please refer you to some wonderful regular season win totals that might placate your logic?
How about some atlantic division banners? way better than ECF or Finals berths!

[RoyceDa59]

We are one solid trade away from being the clear cut best team in the East - do not panic.

I want to resign Kawhi, but I definitely don't want to see Lowry on this team next year. He has ran out the clock on his time with the Raptors.

Plan from here:

1. Make a deadline move that gets us over the hump (shooting) and gets us to the finals. Despite what's happened, in a 7-game series can still beat Milwaukee and anyone in the East. With a good trade, these odds go up. Think about it - Toronto Raptors in the NBA finals. Crazy.

2. Resign Kawhi Leonard in the off-season to a 4 year MAX contract. Resign Danny Green.

3. Trade Lowry, Van Fleet and Ibaka (while his value is high) and bring in a bonefide 2nd star. Masai work his magic and make this happen. I'm talking about Davis, Beal, Lillard.. a play making allstar who can step up when it matters most.

4. Draft well and continue to develop our talent. Siakam is a legit all-star next year.

5. Add shooting and depth, wait for another Kawhi type opportunity, and go for the championship.

We're not trading Kawhi LOL.