Everything 2019 Offseason!

[whateverx2019]

Why do you keep believing that Kawhi should be in the US to capitalize on marketing?
In Canada, he has the support of the WHOLE country
PLUS his loyal American fans as well,
PLUS the whole world- as Canada aptly represents that.
In this Finals alone, how many US states were rooting for the Raps/Kawhi?

Also, didn't you remember how popular Vince was back in the day?

OH and btw, your Clippers will always be 2nd fiddle to the Lakers especially now that the Lakers is looking to be prominent again.

Did you thoroughly read my post? Yes, Kawhi can have all of Canada behind him, but that doesn't mean much with a population that's 10x smaller than the US. The state of Cali has a higher population of Canada; enough said. And Canadians will still support him if he leaves.

Yes, I remember how popular Vince was, but imagine if he were in the US during his prime in a bigger market such as LA or New York.

Clippers will always be second fiddle to the Lakers, but Kawhi can now make them really relevant. That's the impact the guy wants to have. He's gunning from 3 MVPs and championships with 3 different teams before Lebron can.

[MixxAOR]

What stops Americans being fans of Kawhi if he's a Toronto Raptor? With internet and globalization this regional shit doesn't matter anymore.

Vince Carter led the league in All-Star votings 4 times and all of those times it was with Raptors. He did well for himself.

[A.I]

everyone in the media keeps talking like danny green to LA is a done deal. We certainty wont be able to match if they throw a big offer. But U.S media is just assuming that Lakers are going to get ever top end role player in the league like danny, pat bev, jj reddick. I wouldnt be surprised if they end up with some washed up role player just like they did last season.

It happens every year. They discuss what big free agent the Lakers are gonna get and they end up with no one. They got lucky Lebron went to LA for more than just basketball reasons.

[TheWaterboy]

Did you thoroughly read my post? Yes, Kawhi can have all of Canada behind him, but that doesn't mean much with a population that's 10x smaller than the US. The state of Cali has a higher population of Canada; enough said. And Canadians will still support him if he leaves.

Yes, I remember how popular Vince was, but imagine if he were in the US during his prime in a bigger market such as LA or New York.

Clippers will always be second fiddle to the Lakers, but Kawhi can now make them really relevant. That's the impact the guy wants to have. He's gunning from 3 MVPs and championships with 3 different teams before Lebron can.

Number of times Whatever has said that California has a higher population than Canada: at least 3. (Cali only has about 10% more people than Canada does, however.)

Number of times Whatever is going to repeat this ad infinitum unless someone talks to him about: at least a dozen. *sigh*

So let's sanity check this before my eyes slowly roll back into my head from the mindless repetition.

Firstly, it's not just about the quantity of the fans, it's about the quality of the fandom. But let's suppose for a moment that it's about the quantity. As per the ratings, about half of Canada tuned in to watch game six. Even with Kawhi on the Clippers, the best case is that among the active fans, one third will cheer for Lebron's team, one third will cheer for Steph's team, and one third will cheer for Kawhi's team. If we assume for the sake of argument that every Californian is a basketball fan, the number of California fans for Kawhi will still be less than the number of Canadians that watched game six. As for the US versus Canada, well, both the combination of Lebron and AD and the combination of Steph/Klay/Draymond/KD are going to be taking great big bites of Kawhi's US fandom pie no matter where he plays.

As for the quality of Toronto's fandom, it stacks up well against any franchise in the league, even at the current scale.

Vince in his prime was with the Nets - then the New Jersey Nets rather than the Brooklyn Nets, but still in the New York area. Back then, they were essentially the Clippers equivalent to the Knicks as the Lakers equivalent, and having not only Vince but Jason Kidd never made them more relevant, not even when they reached the finals in 2003 - and this at a time when the Knicks were nothing special. If he was the big deal in New Jersey that he was in Toronto, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Kawhi won't make the Clippers relevant as long as either Steph or Lebron are around, in part because they are with established champion franchises, and in part because they fit the Hollywood star dynamic much more (and much more naturally) than Kawhi does.

I'm not saying that there aren't reasons why Kawhi might go else (presumably the Clippers, possibly somewhere else.) My personal best guess is that if it comes down to us and the Clippers (and it seems it might), that the way that the Clippers have misjudged Kawhi in their recruitment is going to put them at a significant disadvantage, but that's only a guess and it might be wrong, or irrelevant. (And I am certainly prepared if it is.)

What I am saying is this: if Kawhi goes to the Clippers, it is not going to be with his legacy in mind. It is going to be for other reasons.

[GOLDBLUM]

Even in our finest hour I've yet to read one word from the aptly named whateverx2019 that convinces me they're a fan of the Toronto Raptors. (That includes the moment when they said, "I am a fan of the Toronto Raptors.")

Everybody else is enjoying the moment.

Meanwhile:

[MixxAOR]

[Scraptor]

Goddamnit I love redheads

[MixxAOR]

he's already meme'd and getting exposure. why care where he is lol

[GOLDBLUM]

he's already meme'd and getting exposure. why care where he is lol

lol... that's really good.

[G__Deane]

Did you thoroughly read my post? Yes, Kawhi can have all of Canada behind him, but that doesn't mean much with a population that's 10x smaller than the US. The state of Cali has a higher population of Canada; enough said. And Canadians will still support him if he leaves.

Yes, I remember how popular Vince was, but imagine if he were in the US during his prime in a bigger market such as LA or New York.

Clippers will always be second fiddle to the Lakers, but Kawhi can now make them really relevant. That's the impact the guy wants to have. He's gunning from 3 MVPs and championships with 3 different teams before Lebron can.

Link to any article/quote/statement from Kawhi/his managaement team/anyone close to him even remotely suggesting this?

[G__Deane]

Goddamnit I love redheads

[Jclaw]

FWIW...Toronto would never have been one of the four teams featured in this (especially without having a first round draft pick). Welcome to the new age.

[Jclaw]

Also, I see Casey is quietly trying to assemble a team of raptor killers (Ellington, Thon....now Snell) . I guess they need a new up now that we have that "championship taste" too.

[KeonClark]

Guys who cares about that whateverx guy, stop responding. He's a troll to be sure, but he hasn't put in the sweat equity of a t rex. T rex earned his spot as head troll around here. this other guy is a nobody

[Apollo]