What if Kawhi is a mastermind who is intentionally playing the whole league

[Jedi32]

It's fun to theorize but it really doesn't make much sense when you think about it.

Raps barely have any roster/cap flexibility anyway.

Clippers still had the money to re-sign Beverly and make a few other additions. They don't mind staying patient and keeping cap space open anyway since their end goal is to eventually land a couple of star players, either this summer or during a future summer.

Lakers are the ones who would be the ones that stand to lose the most since they would've turned to someone like Kemba or Dlo if Kawhi decided early on.

So the only way I could maybe buy this theory is if he ends up signing with LAC and basically puts a big dent in the Lakers free agency plans. The Clippers benefit from that a lot more than the Eastern Conference Raps.

This makes no sense. The Lakers aren't losing anything, they are playing with house money. The raps lose their top player who are they replacing him with? The clippers had a decent season last year but do people really believe that team can catch lightning in a bottle again? Gallo is injury prone while Beverly and Lou will sure lose a step. Also what stars outside of kawhi can the clippers realistically get this summer?

Look at the Raps cap/roster situation, they wouldn't be doing much in the FA market even if Kawhi told them he wasn't coming back before the 30th. Of course losing Kawhi is a massive blow, what I'm saying is that there off-season plan is hugely impacted by it because they barely have any flexibility either way.

You're telling me that the Lakers wouldn't have signed at least 1 or 2 of the players that are now off the market if Kawhi told them he wasn't interested in signing with them on June 30th?

Maybe, but I believe that kawhi was the plan all along. I just keep reading how the lakers are the biggest losers in this waiting game and I'm trying to figure out how is that possible when they already have bron/davis.

[soxfan2003]

He's coming to a california team, my instincts & the basketball gods are the ones who will see it through, He could of avoided all the free agent lollygagging if he knew he was goin back to the raptors 4 or more years, but i think he also knows the raptors shipped off arguably the most loyal raptor they had, Demar Derozan
and sure they catered to Kawhi's every whim because they were trying to seduce him into staying long term but they lied and told derozan he was in their long term plans and they shipped him to a organization that Kawhi despises...the decrepit spurs
he's either going to the Lake show or the Chippers

If LA had Demar Derozan, he probably would have been shipped off sooner after all of those playoff disappointments. LA traded players to get Davis. Traded away Divac and later Eddie Jones. Frankly Raptors showed too much loyalty to Demar Derozan.

[VancouverRaps]

This makes no sense. The Lakers aren't losing anything, they are playing with house money. The raps lose their top player who are they replacing him with? The clippers had a decent season last year but do people really believe that team can catch lightning in a bottle again? Gallo is injury prone while Beverly and Lou will sure lose a step. Also what stars outside of kawhi can the clippers realistically get this summer?

Look at the Raps cap/roster situation, they wouldn't be doing much in the FA market even if Kawhi told them he wasn't coming back before the 30th. Of course losing Kawhi is a massive blow, what I'm saying is that there off-season plan is hugely impacted by it because they barely have any flexibility either way.

You're telling me that the Lakers wouldn't have signed at least 1 or 2 of the players that are now off the market if Kawhi told them he wasn't interested in signing with them on June 30th?

Maybe, but I believe that kawhi was the plan all along. I just keep reading how the lakers are the biggest losers in this waiting game and I'm trying to figure out how is that possible when they already have bron/davis.

Well you're arguing something completely different. Of course you guys have the best roster situation with those 2 superstars. If Kawhi only cares about winning then joining the Lakers is the right choice.

People are saying that you guys have been handcuffed harder than the Clips/Raps not knowing about Kawhi's decision. You could have got Kemba or Dlo instead, or instead signed 2-3 solid starting caliber players.

There aren't many solid starting caliber players left on the market now once you get past Kawhi so the Lakers really are focused in on Kawhi as their Plan A because it's possible that their Plan B and Plan C backups are now off the board.

[gp2015]

It's fun to theorize but it really doesn't make much sense when you think about it.

Raps barely have any roster/cap flexibility anyway.

Clippers still had the money to re-sign Beverly and make a few other additions. They don't mind staying patient and keeping cap space open anyway since their end goal is to eventually land a couple of star players, either this summer or during a future summer.

Lakers are the ones who would be the ones that stand to lose the most since they would've turned to someone like Kemba or Dlo if Kawhi decided early on.

So the only way I could maybe buy this theory is if he ends up signing with LAC and basically puts a big dent in the Lakers free agency plans. The Clippers benefit from that a lot more than the Eastern Conference Raps.

This makes no sense. The Lakers aren't losing anything, they are playing with house money. The raps lose their top player who are they replacing him with? The clippers had a decent season last year but do people really believe that team can catch lightning in a bottle again? Gallo is injury prone while Beverly and Lou will surely lose a step. Also what stars outside of kawhi can the clippers realistically get this summer?

We're not going to replace Kawhi with anyone significant even if he leaves. We're just waiting for Lowry, Ibaka, Gasol, FVV's contracts to come off the books after this season. We'll then start from the bottom and build around Pascal.

That was always the plan when we first acquired Kawhi. If it didn't work out, we would blow it all up and re-build.

If Kawhi comes back, we try for another championship next year but if not, the plan isn't any different than before.

[tdotrep2]

He's coming to a california team, my instincts & the basketball gods are the ones who will see it through, He could of avoided all the free agent lollygagging if he knew he was goin back to the raptors 4 or more years, but i think he also knows the raptors shipped off arguably the most loyal raptor they had, Demar Derozan
and sure they catered to Kawhi's every whim because they were trying to seduce him into staying long term but they lied and told derozan he was in their long term plans and they shipped him to a organization that Kawhi despises...the decrepit spurs
he's either going to the Lake show or the Chippers

Was it also your instinct to put lonzo in your name when making an account

[VancouverRaps]

He's coming to a california team, my instincts & the basketball gods are the ones who will see it through, He could of avoided all the free agent lollygagging if he knew he was goin back to the raptors 4 or more years, but i think he also knows the raptors shipped off arguably the most loyal raptor they had, Demar Derozan
and sure they catered to Kawhi's every whim because they were trying to seduce him into staying long term but they lied and told derozan he was in their long term plans and they shipped him to a organization that Kawhi despises...the decrepit spurs
he's either going to the Lake show or the Chippers

Was it also your instinct to put lonzo in your name when making an account

lol yea


This dude is incredibly biased


The Clippers didn't do Blake Griffin dirty? They showed him what it would like to have his jersey retired at Staples Centre and then proceeded to trade him away to Detroit lol


The current version of the Lakers are loyal? They're own GM/President were trying to undermine each other and they just traded away most of their team for Anthony Davis. Not to mention the drama surrounding Walton vs Lebron/Magic. This ain't the Kobe Lakers anymore.

Masai definitely did DeMar dirty if he did tell him that he wasn't going anywhere, I won't deny that. But let's not pretend that these other franchises are super loyal either.

[madmaxmedia]

This could be something one does in their fantasy league, but it’s too involved and personal in real life. If he literally was just trying to bull 2 other teams, they’d be able to sense something was off during their meetings and interactions with him.

[lonzo_pelota]

He's coming to a california team, my instincts & the basketball gods are the ones who will see it through, He could of avoided all the free agent lollygagging if he knew he was goin back to the raptors 4 or more years, but i think he also knows the raptors shipped off arguably the most loyal raptor they had, Demar Derozan
and sure they catered to Kawhi's every whim because they were trying to seduce him into staying long term but they lied and told derozan he was in their long term plans and they shipped him to a organization that Kawhi despises...the decrepit spurs
he's either going to the Lake show or the Chippers

Was it also your instinct to put lonzo in your name when making an account

i chose a generic moniker as most everyone on here does, he wasnt my favorite laker player of all time but i hoped he'd develop to a jason kidd type point guard
thus i put his last name in espanol for a pun.

[madmaxmedia]

As far as who’s traded players, all three franchises have some ‘blood’ on their hands. Players get moved, what’s important is how they were treated while they were there.

[lonzo_pelota]

He's coming to a california team, my instincts & the basketball gods are the ones who will see it through, He could of avoided all the free agent lollygagging if he knew he was goin back to the raptors 4 or more years, but i think he also knows the raptors shipped off arguably the most loyal raptor they had, Demar Derozan
and sure they catered to Kawhi's every whim because they were trying to seduce him into staying long term but they lied and told derozan he was in their long term plans and they shipped him to a organization that Kawhi despises...the decrepit spurs
he's either going to the Lake show or the Chippers

If LA had Demar Derozan, he probably would have been shipped off sooner after all of those playoff disappointments. LA traded players to get Davis. Traded away Divac and later Eddie Jones. Frankly Raptors showed too much loyalty to Demar Derozan.

we traded divac for a hall of fame top ten player all time lmao, we shipped out eddie and nick van exel and next thing u know we finally got a squad that got us some chips, meanwhile boston trades fan favorites who play after their sister dies for players that give less than a fcuk for boston legacy and any of its banner regalia

[tdotrep2]

He's coming to a california team, my instincts & the basketball gods are the ones who will see it through, He could of avoided all the free agent lollygagging if he knew he was goin back to the raptors 4 or more years, but i think he also knows the raptors shipped off arguably the most loyal raptor they had, Demar Derozan
and sure they catered to Kawhi's every whim because they were trying to seduce him into staying long term but they lied and told derozan he was in their long term plans and they shipped him to a organization that Kawhi despises...the decrepit spurs
he's either going to the Lake show or the Chippers

Was it also your instinct to put lonzo in your name when making an account

lol yea


This dude is incredibly biased


The Clippers didn't do Blake Griffin dirty? They showed him what it would like to have his jersey retired at Staples Centre and then proceeded to trade him away to Detroit lol


The current version of the Lakers are loyal? They're own GM/President were trying to undermine each other and they just traded away most of their team for Anthony Davis. Not to mention the drama surrounding Walton vs Lebron/Magic. This ain't the Kobe Lakers anymore.

Masai definitely did DeMar dirty if he did tell him that he wasn't going anywhere, I won't deny that. But let's not pretend that these other franchises are super loyal either.

and again, how the hell was he suppose to know they would give him kawhi... its not like demar was a damian lillard where he did well in the playoff but his team wasn't good enough.

Demar literally got benched because he was one of the worst players on the floor making 30 million a year, Masai payed the man and he man failed him time and time again and this is coming from a demar fan. Masai did no body dirty.

[nbafan38]

Wish this was true but doubt it. People said the same about Durant trolling the warriors to help out the Thunder. I am not sure if Kawhi is still undecided (definitely possible) or knows where he is going but is trying to be strategic about announcing it (also possible).

[flipside21]

Let's reverse this ever so slightly.

What if he laid out what's in front of him and realized that by doing this there is no way he puts himself in a worse position, and there are cases where it puts him in a better situation. Slightly less devious, but bloody smart.

[Meeksology]

He's coming to a california team, my instincts & the basketball gods are the ones who will see it through, He could of avoided all the free agent lollygagging if he knew he was goin back to the raptors 4 or more years, but i think he also knows the raptors shipped off arguably the most loyal raptor they had, Demar Derozan
and sure they catered to Kawhi's every whim because they were trying to seduce him into staying long term but they lied and told derozan he was in their long term plans and they shipped him to a organization that Kawhi despises...the decrepit spurs
he's either going to the Lake show or the Chippers

You should write the sequel to Alice in wonderland, you have a great imagination!

Sent from my SM-N950W using RealGM mobile app

[Meeksology]

One of my favourite movies of all time. I hope u didn't spoil it for anyone who's lived under a rock and hasn't seen it.

Sent from my SM-N950W using RealGM mobile app

[lonzo_pelota]

He's coming to a california team, my instincts & the basketball gods are the ones who will see it through, He could of avoided all the free agent lollygagging if he knew he was goin back to the raptors 4 or more years, but i think he also knows the raptors shipped off arguably the most loyal raptor they had, Demar Derozan
and sure they catered to Kawhi's every whim because they were trying to seduce him into staying long term but they lied and told derozan he was in their long term plans and they shipped him to a organization that Kawhi despises...the decrepit spurs
he's either going to the Lake show or the Chippers

You should write the sequel to Alice in wonderland, you have a great imagination!

Sent from my SM-N950W using RealGM mobile app

off wit your head does come to mind haha

[soxfan2003]

He's coming to a california team, my instincts & the basketball gods are the ones who will see it through, He could of avoided all the free agent lollygagging if he knew he was goin back to the raptors 4 or more years, but i think he also knows the raptors shipped off arguably the most loyal raptor they had, Demar Derozan
and sure they catered to Kawhi's every whim because they were trying to seduce him into staying long term but they lied and told derozan he was in their long term plans and they shipped him to a organization that Kawhi despises...the decrepit spurs
he's either going to the Lake show or the Chippers

If LA had Demar Derozan, he probably would have been shipped off sooner after all of those playoff disappointments. LA traded players to get Davis. Traded away Divac and later Eddie Jones. Frankly Raptors showed too much loyalty to Demar Derozan.

we traded divac for a hall of fame top ten player all time lmao, we shipped out eddie and nick van exel and next thing u know we finally got a squad that got us some chips, meanwhile boston trades fan favorites who play after their sister dies for players that give less than a fcuk for boston legacy and any of its banner regalia

You just showed some hypocrisy. Lakers can do what is in their best interests and not take blame for it but Raptors and Celtics can't? Leonard has a decent chance of going down in history as better than Kobe. So if it is okay for LA to trade Divac who helped LA make an NBA Finals for a top high school prospect who could be great(Kobe) and was great(I don't have him in my top 10, however), seems like it is okay for Toronto to trade DD for Leonard.

IT wasn't a favorite of mine. Before Ainge traded him, I said he should be released from the team if Ainge couldn't trade him. Celtics gave IT the spotlight and an opportunity to make an all-star team for first time in his career and enough shot attempts that he got some MVP votes. Really good regular season player but not a player that can be used too much in postseason vs top notch competition. I wish him the best but Lakers got rid of Andrew Bynum when they thought he was damaged goods as well.

[soxfan2003]

Wish this was true but doubt it. People said the same about Durant trolling the warriors to help out the Thunder. I am not sure if Kawhi is still undecided (definitely possible) or knows where he is going but is trying to be strategic about announcing it (also possible).

He probably is being strategic and I do think that makes Clippers and Lakers a bit more likely. Release the news on Friday afternoon and it really is talked about less but long term he can't escape some backlash by leaving the Raptors. The backlash will be stronger if he goes to the Lakers. Choosing the Clippers over Lakers will have some Lakers fans upset so that isn't easy decision.

[TheGOATWill]

Man, a year ago people on this board were questioning his mental capacity. What changed?

[vado]

The mans going to retire