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The 7 Stages of Kawhi Grief
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Nilanka wrote: View PostI feel like I can separate the monumental work Kawhi put in this season (capped off by a championship), with the decision to leave town.
I love the former, but hate the latter.
What really stings is that the Toronto Raptors organization, the city, and the country as a whole, put their best foot forward. We showed Kawhi everything.....and I mean everything this city has to offer.....and it still wasn't good enough. I don't care that LA is home....this still stings.
Kawhi really was the difference to being a championship contender, and he knew it. Unless the franchise could get another legit difference maker... why come back?
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golden wrote: View Post
But you have to admit that even from a pure basketball standpoint, our best foot forward actually wasn't good enough. We still don't have a legit second star on the level of the guys Kawhi was recruiting. Lowry and Gasol being afraid to shoot in the playoffs didn't help at all. And Fred & Norm sucking badly early the in playoffs also didn't help. Pascal was the only bright spot, and even he was up & down, but is still a few years away from being elite (hopefully). And then there were Ibaka and Green who were supposed to be solid vets. They were wildly inconsistent.
Kawhi really was the difference to being a championship contender, and he knew it. Unless the franchise could get another legit difference maker... why come back?
Kawhi didn't want to be in Toronto. It's really that simple. He never wanted to come but he was injured, his reputation was in tatters and he was looking for redemption in a contract year. Toronto nursed him back to health, rehabilitated his reputation and got him paid. In exchange, he helped them get a title. It was a good deal for all involved.
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I'm reasonably sure the Clips aren't winning it all with Kawhi either, unless they've got something special up their sleeve with the RMLE. I.e. they have a chance, but nowhere close to the likelihood that the Warriors have enjoyed these last few years. These Clips are just another elite team.
I'm also pretty sure the idea of Kawhi not wanting to come to Toronto at all was WAY overblown.Last edited by SkywalkerAC; Mon Jul 8, 2019, 06:11 PM.
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golden wrote: View Post
But you have to admit that even from a pure basketball standpoint, our best foot forward actually wasn't good enough. We still don't have a legit second star on the level of the guys Kawhi was recruiting. Lowry and Gasol being afraid to shoot in the playoffs didn't help at all. And Fred & Norm sucking badly early the in playoffs also didn't help. Pascal was the only bright spot, and even he was up & down, but is still a few years away from being elite (hopefully). And then there were Ibaka and Green who were supposed to be solid vets. They were wildly inconsistent.
Kawhi really was the difference to being a championship contender, and he knew it. Unless the franchise could get another legit difference maker... why come back?
I still think there will be changes made in-season that will surprise
- 1 like
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golden wrote: View Post
But you have to admit that even from a pure basketball standpoint, our best foot forward actually wasn't good enough. We still don't have a legit second star on the level of the guys Kawhi was recruiting. Lowry and Gasol being afraid to shoot in the playoffs didn't help at all. And Fred & Norm sucking badly early the in playoffs also didn't help. Pascal was the only bright spot, and even he was up & down, but is still a few years away from being elite (hopefully). And then there were Ibaka and Green who were supposed to be solid vets. They were wildly inconsistent.
Kawhi really was the difference to being a championship contender, and he knew it. Unless the franchise could get another legit difference maker... why come back?
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G__Deane wrote: View Post
Which is what I've been saying for weeks. The Raps were fortunate (not lucky) to win the chip, had a lot of things go right for them like rim bounces and Embiid being on his death bed and it wasn't likely to happen again even keeping the roster together. (I think Kawhi wanted changes and I believe Masai would have made larger tweaks than most would have imagined but not wholesale changes).
I still think there will be changes made in-season that will surprise
Stop it with this garbage.
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Nilanka wrote: View Post
Despite all that, I still think a well-balanced Raptors roster has a much easier path to the finals, than any team in the crowded west. The west will be a bloodbath.
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slaw wrote: View Post
I have no idea why Raptors fans are trying to diminish a championship. Raps beat the team with the best record in the league, the third best record in the league and Philly on their way to the title. The Bucks were at full strength. Embiid may have been sick but Lowry had a broken thumb, and Leonard and Siakam were both banged up that series. No one talks about the latter. The Warriors had lost one game without Durant in like 34 tries. Portland got swept by a Durant-less Warriors team and the Rockets lost at home to the same squad.
Stop it with this garbage.
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golden wrote: View Post
Raps roster was pretty old, man (Lowry, Gasol, Ibaka, Green). And even those old guys were expiring in 1 year. There was no real visibility to being great in the future and Kawhi only wanted to do a 4 or 5 year deal. That was why the Clippers signed Beverley and guaranteed Lou a year earlier. Kawhi forced them to do it.
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Nilanka wrote: View Post
Turns out Kawhi only wanted a 2 year deal....
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golden wrote: View Post
Looks like he's matching it with PG and the veteran max. Will be interesting if the Clippers don't win a chip in the next 2 years. I wouldn't want to play poker against Kawhi.... dude is ruthless. And you can't say jack-shit about it, because he also delivers.
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Final stage: Acceptance.
I'll never forget what Kawhi did for this franchise but in the end, he's just like every other athlete
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...aid-want-play/
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I have nothing but respect for Kawhi, and what he accomplished this season. However, more than anything else I do not want to see him win a championship this season with the Clippers. I do not want the story to be that Kawhi can go anywhere and win. Raptors put a darn good team around him to win that title.
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Was Masai ever in on Paul George? OKC's price was really high.. but we had the capital. We had the picks that LAC had. We had some young talent too (like OG) and cap filler to make a trade work (like Serge on an expiring deal). If we "stole" George from OKC, would Kawhi have stayed? Or was he leaving anyway?
I'm comfortable with the decision Masai made, but I wonder if it was the right move. We could have built a bit of a dynasty here if we had PG, Kawhi and a big chunk of our core from last year.
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