Kawhi Reportedly Told The Raptors He Was Leaving Because He Didn't Think They Were Good Enough To Repeat
Whoops! Definitely a little tough when you tell the team you just won a title with that you don't think they are good enough to repeat so you head out to LA to form your own semi superteam only to lose in the same round as the Raptors. Even if it was more about going home, that's still brutal. I'd argue the Raptors are closer to another title than the Clippers are to winning their first and that's before we even know what they do with all their free agents.
Remember, the Raptors had the 3rd most wins in the entire league this year and were very close to making the ECF. Something tells me if they still had Kawhi on that roster, they are in fact competing for an NBA title. It just goes to show that Kawhi basically thought his teammates were trash and had no interest in putting the team on his back again.
Would that change how you viewed Kawhi if you were a fan of the Raptors? The dude was a savior that won them their only title so my guess is no, but it would annoy me a little bit. My question is if you think Kawhi regrets his decision if his focus was all about winning another title. He has to look over to the Raptors and compare it to his current situation and know they actually were capable of repeating.
It also doesn't help things that he was so bad in Game 7. Tough to talk about how someone else isn't good enough and then you lay an egg like that. It does make me wonder what Kawhi will do about his player option after next season. If the Clippers have another underachieving season and are not competing for a title, why would Kawhi stay? What if he decides to maybe go back to Toronto if they miss out on Giannis? That would be crazy.
At the end of the day though, the Raptors and their fans did get that title and really that's all that matters. I just find it interesting that this little nugget comes out right after the Clippers choke. That seems like maybe someone on the TOR side wanted to twist the knife.