Yesterday, the basketball world was stunned when it was announced San Antonio and Toronto reached an agreement over a trade which sends Kawhi Leonard to Canada and brings DeMar DeRozan to Texas.
San Antonio Spurs – Toronto Raptors trade
The Spurs traded Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green to the Raptors in exchange for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a top-20 protected 2019 first round draft pick.
Kawhi Leonard’s broken relationship with the Spurs
An injury, miscommunication, a potential misdiagnosis and ill-feelings regarding it all resulted in Kawhi Leonard requesting a trade from the organization that drafted him. It all started at the end of the 2016/17 season when Leonard landed on Zaza Pachulia during a playoff meeting with the Warriors and suffered a season-ending ankle injury. He was supposed to recover in time for training camp, but he missed the entire pre-season with a right quadriceps injury, an injury which Gregg Popovich said first appeared back in 2016. The Spurs waited all season for their star player to recover, but he never did. He attempted to come back, playing nine games before calling it quits.
The situation started getting messy when Kawhi Leonard blamed Spurs’ doctors for misdiagnosing him in 2016, something which deteriorated the condition of his quad. As a result, he privately sought external help from doctors outside of the organization and recuperated outside of team facilities. He felt let down by the team and some of his teammates. Eventually, he requested a trade, citing Los Angeles as the only destination he would be willing to sign long-term. The San Antonio Spurs, who are not known for succumbing to players’ whims, searched for the best deal they can get. Yesterday, we found out Toronto made the best offer, therefore Kawhi Leonard is headed up north.
Kawhi Leonard – DeMar DeRozan trade impact
We will know the consequences of this trade only after the conclusion of the 2018/19 season. That’s when Kawhi Leonard’s contract expires and he becomes a free agent. When he’s at his best, Leonard is a top 5 NBA player and a definite improvement on DeRozan. The Raptors have dominated the regular season in recent years, yet have failed to get over the hump in the playoffs. DeRozan spent the last quarter in the fourth game of the Cleveland Cavaliers sweep on the bench, even though Toronto was still in the game.
As talented of a scorer he is, DeMar DeRozan is not a clutch playoff player. Kawhi Leonard is. He’s a better shooter and a two-time defensive player of the year. It all comes down to whether he will be able to get back to full strength, and if so, whether the Raptors will be able to convince him to sign a long-term contract afterwards, much like Oklahoma City did with Paul George. If the answer to both of those questions is yes then GM Masai Ujiri immediately becomes general manager of the year. If the answer is no, then he’ll likely lose his job and the franchise will go into rebuild mode.
DeMar DeRozan was promised that he won’t be traded this off-season, yet here we are. This is part of he posted on Instagram:
“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…”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlXyk1cgmxc/
A sport is a sport for the fans and players, but not for the people running the show. For them, it’s a business. The decision to trade DeRozan, Toronto Raptors’ ambassador, is purely business based. He may not like it now, yet he might once he joins Gregg Popovich’s team. If anyone can clean up DeRozan’s weaknesses and turn him into a better player than he already is, it is Popovich.
The problem is that the West is ultra competitive. After losing Kawhi, the player who was thought to be the heir to Tim Duncan’s throne, San Antonio is entering into a period of uncertainty. Pau Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay and Dejounte Murray is a good lineup, one which would have no trouble getting to the playoffs in the East. However, the West is a whole different beast. If the Spurs fail to make the playoffs, the restart button could be pushed there as well.
