Alright Im a little late to the party, but hey I started this blog on a whim.
Lets talk the Kawhi Leonard trade, and how it was an absolute fleecing by the Raptors. Leonard, when he decides to actually play, is a top 5 player in the league. Thats not an opinion thats a fact. He is not one of those flashy guards * cough cough* Russel Westbrook * cough cough* who only cares about stats. He is a two way swing forward who opens up a myriad of options on both offense and defense. He has the ability to shoot from anywhere on the court, and has the body and athleticism to guard the 1-4 positions. Hell with the way NBA is going with small ball he could probably guard most centers to an extent. He is the only player who has “shut down” Lebron James in games where it counts ( see 2014 NBA finals).
But thats enough of a bio for Leonard. Despite how good he is, he tapped out last season. He only played in 9 games. He seems checked out mentally, and has already hinted at a possible hold out in Toronto. So why is it such a fleecing? Because the Toronto Raptors fucking suck.
“But Thomas they had the best regular season record last year”. If you follow the NBA you know that does not matter. The playoffs are a completely different animal. Take a look at that 2014-2015 year. The Atlanta Hawks went 60-22 giving them the best record in the league. Their best player in that season was Average Al ( Al Horford) and what happened? They got swept by the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals. That Cavs team still had Kyrie, a younger Love, and slightly less bald Lebron.
Now fast forward to this year and the Raptors had a similar record ( 59-23) as the 15′ Hawks. That Raptors team was lead by ” superstar” Demar Derozan who was the center piece the Spurs got in exchange for Leonard. And what did that team do? They got fucking swept in the first round. Now y’all will say “but they played the Cavs who went to the finals.” Sure but they couldn’t even take a game from a Cavs team that literally only had Lebron. The rag-tag Celtics team with no Kyrie, no Hayward, and no Daniel Theis ( lolz giving my boii a shoutout) took the Cavs to 7 games. And the Raptors as the 1 seed cant take a single game even when the have home court?
So how does this all translate into the Raptors fleecing the Spurs? Simple. The Raptors were going nowhere, how is a team who got swept by that awful Cavs team have any chance of beating this years Celtics, or even the Pacers? They routinely choke and that was never going to change. So they took their best shot and traded choke-artist Derozan for Leonard an elite two way player.
Listen shooters gotta shoot. Thats what the Raptors did here. The East is a mess, even the Celtics who on paper have the best team have a bunch of question marks. Will Hayward be the same? Will Kyrie be even on the opening roster? And if so will he be the same player after that knee surgery? Other than the Celtics, you have the Pacers and Bucks, both decent teams I suppose, but a Leonard led Raptors team is better than either, if he decides to play. I realize thats a big if….
But lets suppose Leonard doesn’t play or even walks at the end of the year. The Raptors still won the trade. They got out of Derozan’s contract and can start over. That team was sitting in mediocrity. The big loss in that trade was the 1st round pick, not Derozan. So now you either go into next offseason with a bunch of cap room and try to start over. Or you resign Leonard and tell him “hey this is your team now, who do you want in here” and they build the next big three.
Meanwhile the Spurs get a mediocre guard who will light it up in the regular season and do absolutely nothing in the playoffs. You ever been in a relationship, and it just kinda becomes complacency? Thats what Derozan is… He’s the girlfriend you have thats just kinda there, who you’re going through the motions with. You want to break up with her, but kinda like the things she does. Its never anything great, but its meh better than nothing. So you wait until something better comes along, and then you cut ties. Well Leonard came along, so bye-bye Derozan. Now the Spurs are stuck with the Raptors sloppy seconds for at least 2 years. Good luck Pop. Spurs will be lucky to get the 8th seed.
I see you Raptors… I see you…
The Excessive Menace 