While We Were All Sleeping Kawhi Leonard Became A Raptor
This is why we cannot go to sleep! For months the entire basketball world has been waiting to see what the Spurs ultimately did with Kawhi Leonard, and of course Woj drops the bomb of all bombs while literally the entire world is sleeping. Diabolical. According to Woj a deal is pretty much done with DeMar DeRozan being the centerpiece for the Raptors, and things should be finalized today. To be honest, it doesn’t sound like either are thrilled when you take a look at some of the excerpts from Woj’s story
Leonard and DeRozan are both aware that an agreement could be imminent, and neither is expressing enthusiasm for the deal, league sources said.
Sources close to DeRozan told ESPN’s Chris Haynes that DeRozan met with Toronto brass in Las Vegas during summer league and was told he would not be traded.
In a story posted on his Instagram page on Wednesday morning, DeRozan wrote, “Be told one thing & the outcome another. Can’t trust em. Ain’t no loyalty in this game. Sell you out quick for a little bit of nothing… Soon you’ll understand… Don’t disturb…”
It’s clear that Masai Ujiri is taking a gigantic risk, trading one of this best players and more for a guy who very clearly has stated he is going to LA next year. Now I know things can change, and the Raptors will be able to offer him 5/190 to stay north of the border, but it’s still no guarantee. Now I’m interested to see what else is going out the door with DeRozan, if it’s someone like OG Anunoby has well when then that changes how this trade looks. If it’s lesser players and picks and the Raptors are adding a player like Kawhi to their core, then they will absolutely be a contending team in the East now that there is no LeBron. It was probably clear to the Spurs that the Lakers were not going to pay a king’s ransom, so they shipped him literally as far as possible for what most likely was the best offer on the table. While other GMs weren’t willing to give up major pieces for a rental, TOR had always expressed they didn’t really care and would have Lowry/DeRozan on the trade block for the right player. It now appears that has happened.
For the Spurs, they are getting a guy coming off a career year who has 3/83M left on his deal with an early termination option for 2020-21. If you thought the Spurs loved the midrange game before, just wait until you see DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge on the floor together. They are about to LIVE in the midrange world. The good news is that not only do they have DeRozan locked up for a while, but he is just 28 years old and a proven commodity to help the Spurs enter this next phase in their franchise.
Again, it will depend on the overall package TOR sends out, but doing this all for a guy to play one year is a bold move. I get the Raptors may feel they could never land a player like this in free agency, and thus are forced to take this risk, sort of like what OKC did with Paul George, but just because he stayed does not mean you can assume every top tier player will follow suit. Does this move instantly make the Raptors the favorites in the East? I wouldn’t go that far, so it is interesting to see them make a move like this despite the East being wide open post LeBron. Maybe that’s WHY they did it because they feel like with whatever is left they can still get over the hump with Kawhi/Lowry as the centerpieces.
Either way, there’s nothing like waking up to a gigantic Woj bomb that is about to change the landscape of the NBA. Shame on all of us for going to sleep, we should have known better.