Knicks Morning News (2018.07.18)

Raptors, Spurs finalizing Kawhi Leonard trade involving DeMar DeRozan

Says neither player is enthusiastic about the deal, which…

I predicted this exact trade several weeks ago.

Okafor still available. What about offering BAE on a 1 year deal plus team option? We’d have early bird rights at the end of the two years. KP and Mitch are the future starters but Okafor could supply scoring punch off the bench.

Okafor still available. What about offering BAE on a 1 year deal plus team option? We’d have early bird rights at the end of the two years. KP and Mitch are the future starters but Okafor could supply scoring punch off the bench.

um no thanks
here’s all you need to know about Okafor. hard pass.

Re: Butler – it certainly feels like any kind of deal like this would be “skipping steps”. That said — if all it takes is THJ + a future pick it’s sort of a no-brainer.
Not sure about the Noah and Dieng part of it. I would not really want the rest of Dieng’s contract even though he’s infinitely more useful than Noah. Don’t have time to really look into it but I would assume not being able to stretch Noah would prevent us from having a max slot for next summer, especially given Butler will prob have a $30MM cap hold.

There should be no need to include a first rounder in a trade for Butler. Remember Paul George was traded to OKC under similar circumstances a year ago for two relatively young players and no picks. I would say George was more valuable too. He was 27 where Butler is almost 29 and an Olympian and all that. If we are willing to Hardaway and something small besides, that should be enough.

You could be right. The injury, and his team’s reaction to it, might have been very hard on someone who only wants to play basketball.

This would be similar to the time we traded spare parts for Zach Randolph. In a vacuum, it was a good trade. But all Zach did was play well enough to get us out of the top draft positions. The ultimate result of the trade was we gave up Russell Westbrook, Channing Frye, and Steve Francis for Zach Randolph and Danilo Gallinari. Pretty lopsided, even if you have a low opinion of Russ.

If DeMar DeRozan really is the primary piece coming back for the Spurs, I think they may have fully lost their way.

Spurs have agree to trade Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green to Toronto for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a protected 2019 first-round pick, league sources tell ESPN. Trade call with league office is starting shortly.

Lol

Wow that’s a nice deal for Toronto.
They get out from under Derozan’s contract, pick up 2 elite defensive wings, send a middling center and protected 1st? that is nice.

You can’t tell me that the Lakers couldn’t have beaten that deal. Maybe the Spurs really just didn’t want to send him there, both for competitive reasons and also to make sure they did not reward Kawhi for his behavior.

The Kawhi trade makes perfect sense for Toronto.
They prob didn’t really want Derozan and the 3 years left on his contract anyway.
They really get to make a push this year in a year that maaayybee the Sixers and Celtics aren’t quite ready to make the leap.
Lowry, Green, Kawhi, Anunoby, can put Ibaka at center – that defense is going to be insane.

Even if Kawhi leaves, they can do a total reset in 2021 with only $10MM on the books for that year.

Freaking Masai.

Mmmmh, the Spurs roster looks horrible right now. Murray-DeRozan-Gay-LMA-Poeltl as their starting five? Who’s gonna even defend them on the perimeter?

Poeltl is solid and could get better, but is also the only legitimately good asset in a package for Kawhi freakin’ Leonard (pick is 1-20 protected). That’s insane.

Popovich sent a clear message to Kahwi with that trade. I love it. He’s rebuilding the moment Kahwi made his willingness to leave clear and was getting fleeced with the only teams who Leonard intimated a willingness to sign an extension with.

The trade fills needs for both teams, which is why I proposed it weeks ago. San Antonio needed a scoring guard to replace Parker, who is old and was getting worse even when he was still on the roster. And they want to get a name high level player to replace Kawhi. Toronto probably concluded that having most of their offensive talent at the guard positions wasn’t cutting it in the playoffs and they had lots of salary in DeRozan and Lowrie. They need someone like Kawhi much more than they need to have both Lowrie and DeRozan.

he got fleeced anyway

Which was going to happen the moment Kahwi made it public that he would only sign an extension with a few teams. At least this way Popovich 1.) trades him outside the Western Conference, and 2.) trades him to a place he didn’t want to go as payback. Nice.

If DeMar DeRozan really is the primary piece coming back for the Spurs, I think they may have fully lost their way.

Maybe they were never as smart as people thought to begin with.

When you already have Robinson, he gets hurt, and that lands you the greatest all around PF in league history that is also willing to play for a discount when required, you will have a monumental advantage and just need a little more luck and competence to be a major player for a very long time.

The Spurs have done a series of dumb things in recent years. I predicted they were about to fall apart last year before it started to become apparent. They have some old and overpaid players. They just added a player whose game does not translate well to the playoffs because he doesn’t get the same foul calls and they don’t have a ton else. I’d rather be the Knicks than the Spurs right now.

This is a weird trade.

@16 – I mean brutal as in brutally tough. The three best teams in the east are in there. 12 pretty guaranteed losses for us… hence the viva la tank comment!

Maybe Masai is gonna flip Kawhi for that Lakers package that was being offered to the Spurs.

Which would be a pretty damn good return for DeRozan and Poetl.

Kawhi is a young MVP type player on a cheap contract and Ujiri is not a stud?

When Toronto is versing Golden State in the finals, KD is locked up and out of necessity Boogie wins finals MVP, Ujiri will be celebrating his GM of the year award. If Kawhi sign extension then he really scored and got into the GM of the decade conversation.

If he doesn’t sign extension, Ujiri will flip him to someone like us for a us an expiring (Noah), our best young player (Knox. Frank or Mitch) and an unprotected 1st.

Maybe the Spurs will flip Derozan and this will all make sense. Doesn’t make much sense to me now though. Signing LMA and trading for Derozan just not like the Spurs of old.

EDIT: I see D-mar got there first

Danny Green is not very good, but yeah, his deal only runs through 2019. The Spurs are still going to have to pay DeMar 55 million after that.

Maybe they were never as smart as people thought to begin with.

They’re pretty smart, but I think people underestimated how important it was to have Duncan. Duncan was the Chris Partlow that allowed Pop to run around like Marlo Stanfield. He embarrassed Kawhi on many occasions, including one game I witnessed at the Garden where he subbed him out on like the second possession. I think it’s harder to get away with that act when Timmy isn’t standing behind you making sure everyone does what you say. And Pop may be suffering from self-attribution bias.

I think DeRozan is stuck in San Antonio…or rather the Spurs are stuck with him. I don’t see a rational flip for him unless the Clips want him and are offering picks and Gallinari. Kawhi on the other hand…Ujiri can easily flip him. The Lakers..the Knicks..Boston..the Mavs..and maybe even Brooklyn can offer a good haul for him. So..Kawhi is a major coup for the Drakes. Risky..but a coup nonetheless.

I really don’t see a great top prospect next year (disclaimer- based off reports, not my own observations). I mean, RJ Barrett is am OK defender with great ball handling, but not a good shooter. Eh. Zion Williamson has great athleticism, gets to the rim and takes high-perc shots, but poor defensive motor? Eh. The others are eh too. Needs a year to sort out, but unclear that there is a Fultz/Towns/Doncic here.

The Lakers..the Knicks..Boston..the Mavs..and maybe even Brooklyn can offer a good haul for him.

Why would the Knicks, Mavs or Nets trade for him at midseason, being lottery teams that have a 0.001% chance of signing him as a UFA that summer?

Does Magic wait until Dec 15th and then offer KCP and some youth and/or picks for Butler?
OR
Does he wait to try to sign Kawhi next summer?

I think an interesting aspect to this trade is how the good players in this league really do have a lot of power now in where they go and that is why you aren’t seeing the hauls that people would expect when you trade Kawhi Leonard.

The very best (KD, Lebron, Curry) will usually have no trade clauses. The cap has gone up enough to where the next tier of players are all making big money and therefore losing one extra year of guaranteed money and the extra money you make every year for resigning with the team that has your bird rights doesn’t seem as big of a loss. So when they are unhappy they can make it known and they can basically say this is where I want to go and if you trade me to anywhere else, I won’t sign an extension with them. So teams aren’t going to make Melo type trades anymore out of fear that they will miss out. And teams might take a risk for them like the Raptors but they aren’t going to trade the farm for a player even of Kawhi’s stature bc they know there’s a good chance that player won’t stay after their contract ends.

Green looks like he’s declining, but there’s little question that players in general are extending their productive years a little longer now than in the past. That’s what all the rest, minutes limitations, and greater knowledge about the human body is doing.

Do you have any evidence for this, or is this all made-up?

Its actually not surprising to me that the spurs are finally messing things up. If you’re a 50 plus win team for over 25 years (they were very good in the 90s before Duncan people forget)…it must be hard to realize that its all finally coming to an end and you have to do a rebuild.

Its actually not surprising to me that the spurs are finally messing things up. If you’re a 50 plus win team for over 25 years (they were very good in the 90s before Duncan people forget)…it must be hard to realize that its all finally coming to an end and you have to do a rebuild.

I think it’s the way they are messing things up that is so surprising. Betting big on the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge, Lonnie Walker, Rudy Gay, and DeMar DeRozan makes you wonder what they’re smoking over there.

I mean, healthy Kawhi is great, but busted, 1-year rental Kawhi…. that’s about a fair market price. Derozan is way better than any guard we have and Poetl is pretty good actually.

Spurs didn’t want to rebuild with ultra young guys is my guess. If Murray improves, they have a team with 5 above average starters in a league that demands you to have a superstar (or 2).

It will be fascinating to watch how they fare. I can’t imagine better than a 7 or 8 seed, but don’t underestimate Pop.

the top of next year’s draft seems… ok… altho the jump from hs to college will do a good job of filtering out the real prospects….

so far in my estimates… rj barrett.. cam reddish and nasir little might be for real… but I have a lot of doubts about the rest of the draft.. esp the guys returning from college…. (with the exception of shamorie ponds)…

i’m pretty sure it’ll wind up being weak overall….

I think Nasir Little is a pretender prospect. He’s a combo forward with a suspect handle and no outside jumper. He has the length, the motor, and the mentality to be an excellent defender, but if he can’t dribble or shoot he’s kind of lost on offense.

Cam Reddish looks awesome but I worry if he’s too cool. He’s probably the most talented recruit but RJ Barrett fries him every time they play, I worry about his shot selection, and he seems unbothered on defense. If he puts it all together then he’s a more athletic Jayson Tatum with an even better handle, but I don’t think he has it in him to be a good defender.

I like Sekou Doumbouya, Romeo Langford, and Zion Williamson a lot. I haven’t seen/read enough on Bol Bol, but he has the size and skill to go overall. And obviously my favorite player in the draft is RJ Barrett. He’s a hound defensively, a plus athlete with good size for the wing, and he can shoot and dribble. He won a gold medal at 17 in the FIBA U18 games (he dropped 38 on a heavily favored USMNT), his high school team was the national champion and didn’t lose a game all year, and he’s a member of the senior Canadian men’s basketball team.

I just figured out the spurs motivation, it’s simple they. It’s all about keeping pop happy and relevant so he doesn’t retire.

@66 – we just need someone to help the Nets get marginally better so that they beat us every time we play.

As far as the trade is concerned, I’m sure there are plots within plots but the bottom line to me is that it sucked for both teams and both centerpiece players. It was a trade of one type of problem for another type of problem.

The person it may stink for the most after DeRozan (who didn’t want to leave Toronto, and unlike Kawhi can’t go elsewhere in a year) is Becky Hammon. Pop probably isn’t coaching that much longer, and they seem to be grooming her to succeed him and break the gender barrier. Following Pop will be tough no matter what, but following him with this mismatched set of toys seems likely to set her up for failure, and to set up the “women shouldn’t coach men” knuckleheads to have their toldja so moment.

I don’t get the concerns that the Knicks will suddenly overpay for Kawhi if/when Masai starts shopping him around.

In addition to what Lavor said, there’s Dolan’s PTSD about getting pantsed by Masai twice in trades. Odds are this is one of the few situations where he would insert himself back into basketball decision-making, if only to tell Perry, “We don’t deal with that guy unless we’re unequivocally winning the trade.”

Celtics GM Danny Ainge and Happy Walters, the agent for restricted free agent guard Marcus Smart, are now seriously engaged in contract talks, league sources tell ESPN. Potential deal range is in the four-year, $46M-$50M range, sources tell ESPN. Talks ongoing.

There had been talk of the Kings throwing a big offer sheet at Smart with the cap space they tried to use on LaVine. If he’s unavailable, maybe it’s time for Perry to call about that Hardaway/Shumpert trade Tommy Beer has been pushing? It would require Mills to admit his mistake, but Sacramento is one of the few teams dumb enough, with enough cap space, to go for Timmy.

I’m not why everyone is so negative on the Spurs for this trade. It’s true that this probably helped Toronto, but the Spurs did OK too. They were already a playoff team last season (without Kawhi) and now they are also without Kawhi, but added Derozan instead of Parker, which is a big improvement. They could be very good next season and next. Thats probably what they want.

I am sure there is some kind of WP truther take on this where Masai and not Pop is the one losing his touch. And I’m sure it’s gonna be found here.

I think Ujiri is pivoting to a rebuild and this trade will take place on Dec 15th:

Lakers………Kawhi, Lowry
Raptors…….Ball, Ingram, Hart, Kuzma, 2 picks, Deng, Rondo

Kawhi is livid at Raptors because it will cost him something like 50m I read if he walks to Lakers versus via trade. He’s not gonna be a happy camper. He wants to be in a big market.

@53..you’re right..I forgot Kawhi is a FA after this season

I don’t think Timmy for butler straight up works for them. We’d have to include youth and it picks like spurs did

There should be no need to include a first rounder in a trade for Butler. Remember Paul George was traded to OKC under similar circumstances a year ago for two relatively young players and no picks. I would say George was more valuable too. He was 27 where Butler is almost 29 and an Olympian and all that. If we are willing to Hardaway and something small besides, that should be enough.

The Knicks don’t have anyone remotely comparable to Oladipo and Sabonis on their team right now. If they did, then sure, maybe they wouldn’t need to give up a pick, but then I’d probably be saying the same thing about it costing too much if they were giving up young players on par with Oladipo and Sabonis.

Oladipo then >>>> Hardaway Jr. now

And I wasn’t even some big fan of Oladipo before he blew up in Indiana.

They consider him a vital cog in their defense?

Oladipo then >>>> Hardaway Jr. now

I don’t buy this at all. The trade was widely panned for Indiana at the time it was made because Oladipo was considered just a role player who wasn’t worth much. They may have thought he would get better than he was but it doesn’t change the fact that the best offer they got was what OKC considered two ordinary role players.

And I would add that Paul George then was probably as good as or better than Jimmy Butler now and certainly younger.

Why is everybody so sure Toronto can’t keep Kawhi Leonard? They can offer him more money than anybody else, they’re a team that can get to the Finals, and Toronto is one of the best cities in the world. This isn’t the Orlando Magic we’re talking about. Paul George was also born and raised in LA but chose to stay in possibly the worst city to host an NBA franchise because they offered him a lot of money and a chance to get bounced in the second round every year. Toronto is a global city and with him has a chance to get to the Finals this year and next at the very least. He’s also unquestionably the alpha dog in town and doesn’t have to share a team or city with LeBron James. I like Toronto’s chances to retain Kawhi Leonard more than most people.

I just checked the trade machine and Raps could trade Kawhi and Lowry to Lakers on Sept 18th. Kawhi alone could be traded right away. Lakers would be ecstatic getting Lowry and Kawhi, Kawhi would end up where he wanted to be and on a better team than had Spurs traded him direct, and in one swoop Ujiri would have created the deepest young core in the league:
VanVleet/Wright/Ball/Hart/Ingram/Anunoby/Kuzma/Siakam/Picks.
They’d have a lot of cap space when Val/Ibaka/Deng/Miles are off books in couple of years.

This is coming down the road for us with Knox and Frank.

lol Knox hasn’t even reached his 19th birthday (or actually played in a single NBA game!) and we’re already worried about his second contract. This is peak Knickerblogger.

Oladipo RPM 2014-2017:
-0.56, -0.31, 2.59, 1.66

Hardway RPM 2014-2018:
-6.39, -3.81, -1.5, 0.82, 0.79

Yep. It’s not even close.

I think the trade was a fine gamble for the Raptors. What does their cap look like if Kawhi leaves? Can they sign anyone?

I think their cap is still bad in 2019-20 but they only have Norman Powell under guaranteed contract after that. Complete reset possible. They could trade Valanciunas and Ibaka expirings for bad $ if necessary and replenish their draft pick stash, yet still have enough cap room for 2 maxes if they want. Masai is amazing.

You managed to find a stat that makes Oladipo look better. But if you compare WS/48 or PER or many other stats for Oladipo two seasons ago to Hardaway last season, they are very comparable; and you could make the case Hardaway was hampered by injury, whereas Oladipo wasn’t.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.fcgi?request=1&sum=0&player_id1_hint=Victor+Oladipo&player_id1_select=Victor+Oladipo&player_id1=oladivi01&y1=2017&player_id2_hint=Tim+Hardaway&player_id2_select=Tim+Hardaway&y2=2018&player_id2=hardati02&idx=players

lol Knox hasn’t even reached his 19th birthday (or actually played in a single NBA game!) and we’re already worried about his second contract. This is peak Knickerblogger.

Fair. Just saying that the younger a player is when you draft him, the more uncertainty you will likely face when it’s time to make a critical decision. I should have used the more obvious and near term example: Porzingis (who we’ll likely have to pay far above what he’s earned and hope he grows into his salary).

The reason the 2019 Toronto pick was protected 1-20 is that Ujiri probably intends to trade Kawhi soon for youth/picks. Remember also Ujiri was trying to move Lowry I believe last year. I’d be surprised if Kawhi didn’t go to Lakers since that’s the team that would most want Lowry and has got youth/picks.

Masai is amazing

What makes him particularly good is the lack of sentimentality. This move is a total Belichick move, right? It’s so hard to move a star player who actually wants to play for Toronto, but you have to be ruthless sometimes.

Kawhi has all ready been to two finals and won one also winning the finals mvp so he may not care about making it to the finals if he doesn’t want to be in that city long term.

@95

Paul George has never been nor will ever be as good as prime Jimmy Butler. It’s not even close.

Ok, here is the comparison between George (two seasons ago) and Butler (last season). Butler is slightly better, but he’s also two years older than George was when he was traded, so I think that’s a wash. Maybe you get a somewhat better player, but he’s going to go downhill two years sooner.

And you guys saying Toronto should trade Kawhi right away, are you nuts? You get Kawhi on your team and you dont even try him out in training camp? Imagine the Knicks made a good deal for Kawhi — you’d say trade him right away for picks?

https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.fcgi?request=1&sum=1&player_id1_hint=Paul+George&player_id1_select=Paul+George&player_id1=georgpa01&y1=2017&player_id2_hint=Jimmy+Butler&player_id2_select=Jimmy+Butler&y2=2018&player_id2=butleji01&idx=players

I think the guys wanting to deal Kawhi are saying so only if Kawhi makes it clear he won’t play for Toronto, either. There is a non-zero chance he just sits out the 2018-29 season. He’s a total nutjob. I wouldn’t put anything past him.

It’s incredibly odd.

So is Kawhi Leonard. 😉

I don’t think enough is being said about the obvious motivation here. Masai is no fool. He sees the Mitch Rob era coming and wants to maximize his chance of winning before it really takes off.

Wait, we’re talking just in his first five seasons, right? If not, then the over.

I’m sure I’ll be pilloried for saying so, but I think the trade was great for both teams.

Spurs –

First, making a good trade for a player with one year left who has clearly said he’ll only sign with a few teams is REALLY REALLY hard. We don’t know the offers on the table, but it is reasonable to assume that a team like the Lakers might say, this guy cares about where he plays over money. Thus he won’t care about Bird rights. Thus we don’t need to trade for him, we can sign him straight out in a year. So the Spurs were in a rough place.

Second, most of you are remembering the DeRozen from 3-4 years ago – the overrated chucker. He may be overpaid, and not good in the playoffs, but he is pretty efficient at very high usage and has a great assist %. He is a good player who is reputed to work his ass off to improve. His defense is a weakness, but Pop got a team without Kawhi and with LMA to fourth overall in the league, so I’m confident he knows he can make DeRozen a competent defender.

Third, DeRozen is a complementary player to LMA, who is a good outside shooter and can draw his defender away, opening up driving lanes for DeRozen. He adds an element of attack to a somewhat soporific offense. Again, I trust Pop to work him into a system that maximizes his strengths.

Fourth, Poeltl is really good – an excellent defender with a 66% TS on modest usage. Again, a good complementary piece, likely to help the Spurs maintain a good defense while not damaging them on O.

Fifth, Pau, Lamarcus, Mills and DeRozan is a win-now team who all will finish (or be finished as players) within the next few years. At that point Pop will probably retire and they can restart from scratch. Adding draft picks in the near term is secondary to adding good players for the next two years. Can they win a championship? No. They aren’t the Warriors. So why not be good while you have the LMA and other contracts on the books?

Sixth, Pop.

I predict the Spurs to…

I predict the Spurs to win 53 games next year.

Raps –

First, what do you do with a team that’s as good as it’s ever going to be, and that isn’t good enough to win it all? You make changes. They had to. The best thing they could do was to get out from under DeRozen’s contract. He is a good player, as I argue above, but clearing his salary is a good move that opens up possibilities for them EVEN IF KAWHI NEVER PLAYS FOR THEM.

Second, if Kawhi DOES play for them, he’s, um, the fifth best player in the league? Fourth? Whatever, he’s up there, a complete player in every respect. He could be the piece that lifts them to the Finals.

Third, if Kawhi is too hurt to play at a high level, his contract is over, he leaves, the Raps have still cleared that huge salary from their books.

Fourth, as others have noted, you can still trade Kawhi, and maybe get good pieces back that the Spurs weren’t going to get or weren’t willing to accept, because the team was in its division or just to spite Kawhi or whatever. If he shows he still has it but doesn’t want to stay in Toronto, again, anything you get will move you forward from where you were stuck with DeRozen.

I can’t predict wins for them, because who knows what Kawhi is going to do, but if he plays they should do at least as well as last year, and maybe Kawhi can lift them to the Finals…where they lose to the Warriors, like any other team will in the next two years.

All in all, it seems like a win-win to me.

Man, 52 pts on 22 shots is pretty great. Good to see The Liberty maintaining NY basketball traditions.

While I agree, I don’t think Porter was ever seriously considered by any top ten team specifically because of how awful his medical reports were, ya know? Whenever you hear “degenerative” about a player’s back, it makes you gulp loudly.

The deal seems pretty meh to me. Going to be a lot of mid-range shots with DeMar and LMA in the same offence.

Everyone seems pretty upset for DeMar. Can you imagine that kind outpour of sentiment for any Knicks player in the last 18 years ha ha

I’m glad that I had the opportunity to recover from my basketball-related fractured leg and calf tear in Oregon. Tylenol was nice, but there are better, legal options out here.

Like kratom and bath salts.

Going to be a lot of mid-range shots with DeMar and LMA in the same offence.

Kawhi took a ton of midrange shots, too, although he was, on the whole, more efficient.

The big victory here is that Masai Ujiri can’t take our lunch money in a DeRozan trade next summer. Could you imagine if we signed Kyrie and then traded the farm for DeRozan to pair the two on a capped out 45 win team? That was probably our fate.

What makes him particularly good is the lack of sentimentality. This move is a total Belichick move, right? It’s so hard to move a star player who actually wants to play for Toronto, but you have to be ruthless sometimes.

I agree that sometimes you have to make hard decisions, but you can’t overdo it. That will only work until every player and agent in the NBA hates your guts over how you’ve treated one of their clients or friends and no one wants to play or do deals with you anymore. That’s part of why Hinkie is still out of the game.

I think all sides realize it’s a business, but I’m already reading about player backlash because Toronto did not thank DDR for all he’s done for the franchise appropriately. You can’t treat these guys like a line on a spreadsheet. You have to try to accomplish your own goal but also keep players and agents happy. That’s no easy task.

Oh man, Kawhi is such a nutjob. I sort of love it, honestly. Well, so long as he isn’t a Knick, that is. 😉

although I thought they’d covet Anunoby

I’m sure they did, but I think Toronto covets him more, ya know?

DeRozan’s main strength as a player is drawing fouls, and that is not a skill that ages well.

Sitting out might be the best action for Kawhi. If he refuses to even meet Ujiri, it would probably force a trade to a designated team(s) with which he would agree to re-sign like Lakers, 76ers, Clippers, or maybe Knicks. By virtue of the trade, Kawhi would make about 50m more (according to what I’ve read) than if he played for the Raptors this season and then signed with one of those teams as a free agent.

Of course, Ujiri might not trade him if he sits out and he would lose his 23m salary this season and then have to sign as a free agent next summer. That would be a net loss of 23m to Kawhi versus playing for Raps this season and then signing somewhere else as free agent. I think Ujiri would have to trade him or he would have just dealt a fan favorite DDR and Poetl for nothing. That would be a PR nightmare and that’s why my money is on Lowry/Kawhi to Lakers.

Well, LeBron post The Decision and Durant with the fake Twitter account definitely took PR hits. Then there was Kobe’s rape trial, Lew Alcindor becoming Kareem, Magic announcing that he was HIV positive, Agent Zero’s gun, Jayson Williams murder, Kermit Washington’s punch, Isiah’s Bird comment. I mean, Kawhi has been really freakin’ weird, but he’s also been legitimately injured and somewhat maligned by his team and coach. And he hasn’t uttered a word, his handlers are the ones doing the talking. I think once he starts playing again all will be pretty quickly forgotten.

Good examples and some I had forgotten about too! I hope it does blow over for Kawhi as well.

I think the rules may need to be tweaked a little. I don’t think it’s healthy for the league that players are demanding trades in the final year of their contract by saying they won’t sign back and then also trying to force themselves to where they want to go so the team that holds them can’t even get a fair deal back. The team is under contract for the full length of the contract if the player is a mental case, hurt, stinks, claims he’s too hurt to play even if medically cleared etc.. but the player is effectively under contract for one year less than that if he’s not happy with the team because he can force his way out.

I can’t think of a good solution but maybe if “you” forced the trade you should lose your ability to get that longer contract.

Sorry, Strat, but I completely disagree. When a typical contract is signed, there is no obligation on the player’s part to either stay with a team or leave it on the team’s terms. The Spurs could simply call Kawhi’s bluff and keep him until his contract runs out, or trade him while he has value, or cut him. Remember, the player is giving up tens of millions by not staying put.

OTOH, I think no trade clauses and trade kickers are bad for the league.

The only leverage Kawhi has is if he has corrective surgery for something and can actually prove it is somewhat necessary if contested, which it would obviously be. He can’t just not show up. Obviously for a NBA player it isn’t the hardest thing to do to have a nagging injury somewhere that could be made better through surgery, but it brings the risk of recovering from it and dealing with the backlash of Los Angeles feeling less confident about his overall health.

There have been reports by Woj that Kawhi was warming up to the idea of playing in Toronto, and frankly he would be very stupid to not be. Lowry, Anunoby, Leonard, Ibaka or Siakam and Valanciunas should be a very, very good team if Kawhi is healthy and they still have great depth on the bench, this team could realistically beat the Celtics or the Sixers if things go right.

Toronto has great fans and could make a finals run if he’s healthy. It’s totally possible that he could like it there and decide to re-up.

Contractual Madness

Don’t forget Sprewell choking his coach.

Imagine if right now we were talking about how Kawhi choked out Gregg Popovich in practice.