Everything 2018 Off Season

[Apollo]

A) He's one of the best SG defenders in the league, by impact measures, even now.
B) He's a good shooter.
C) He's expiring, so between he and Kawhi, the worst case scenario for the Raptors (Kawhi leaving) means saving over 30M dollars.

Are they under enough to fill the void at the 2 with someone who can keep this team in the mix in the east?

[rocwell]

According to @golfodds of the @LVSuperBook, Kawhi Leonard trade moved Toronto Raptors from 60/1 to 20/1 to win the #NBA Championship next season. San Antonio Spurs drop from 80/1 to 200/1 odds.

Sorry DeMar... pic.twitter.com/R8OYW5H8bk

— Covers (@Covers) July 18, 2018

[magoon]

This will either be a great trade or an all-time stinker, and that entirely depends on whether Kawhi is willing to be a grownup or not.

If he plays hard for one year (which he should, to increase his value; he doesn't want LA bidding against nobody), it's worth it even if he doesn't re-sign, because one year of Kawhi playing hard on this team is probably a Finals appearance and potentially even semi-competitive against the Warriors. That would be huge for the Raptors even if he bails, because I - like most people - wasn't looking forward to paying DeMar the $40ish million per season he was going to (rightly) ask for in 2020, and because if Kawhi bails our pitch to Giannis in 2021 is "we made the Finals with Kawhi and if we slot you in his place, we'll go back there."

If he tanks it, though, it's a disaster, and that is a non-zero chance. It shouldn't be, because Kawhi is a grown man with a job, but it's there.

[planetmars]

I saw the headline but couldn't post until now.. Gotta give a lot of credit to Webster on this one.. Isn't Masai in Africa this week? I mean he could still communicate via phone/text, but this kind of deal seems like it would require a person to person type of discussion.

DeMar was a great Raptor.. but my gawd his defensive "efforts" in the playoffs needed to be replaced.. and we got the best perimeter defender in the league. Let's just hope we get the guy from 2016 and not the guy from 2017.. but so pumped for this next season now.

Spurs rumour was an all-star, prospect and pick. And we gave our least desirable prospect (IMO) and a pick that's not going to be great, but was protected anyway. Great, great deal all around.


Danny Green is a good vet to have.. 30 years old.. can still shoot (36.3% on 4.6 attempts last year). He's not as good a defender as he once was. But he's an expiring contract which helps.

I guess OG comes off the bench and start with Lowry/Green/Kawhi/Serge/JV?

So many iterations of what we can do.. and we have a coach that I'm sure will explore each one happily.

[Puffer]

..... and we have a coach that I'm sure will explore each one happily.

Excited about this. Nurse has to perform now.

[KeonClark]

Holy fucking shit. Haven't read any reaction yet but just got the news driving in to work. Masai you God.

[A.I]

I think you keep OG as a starter.

Lowry/Kawhi/OG/Ibaka or Siakam/JV.

[blackjitsu]

Another thing I forgot to mention, Toronto has a better medical staff than SA. That may be a bonus when dealing with Kawhi.

[GOLDBLUM]

I saw the headline but couldn't post until now.. Gotta give a lot of credit to Webster on this one.. Isn't Masai in Africa this week? I mean he could still communicate via phone/text, but this kind of deal seems like it would require a person to person type of discussion.

Masai be like, "Can you hold on, Barack, I gotta take this call ---- business, you know."

[planetmars]

I think you keep OG as a starter.

Lowry/Kawhi/OG/Ibaka or Siakam/JV.

Yup.. so many iterations. Lowry, Kawhi and JV are shoe ins.. than it's a matter of figuring out who works best with those three guys. Some combo of OG, Siakam, Green, Wright or Serge.

[LJ2]

I think you keep OG as a starter.

Lowry/Kawhi/OG/Ibaka or Siakam/JV.

I think they need Green's shooting, plus if they want to resign him then probably a good idea to keep him happy. Not sure if OG can play PF, but he being the youngest will likely be the one coming off the bench. He'll get his minutes though.

...Could another trade be coming? Maybe Serge?

[DanH]

I'm sorry, what?!

Next summer, if Kawhi and Green both leave, the Raptors will have removed DeRozan, Poeltl and their 2019 pick from the books, saving them 30M in salary and about 50M in taxes.

It's a worst case scenario (ideally you keep Kawhi and are awesome for a long time), but as far as worst case scenarios go, it's a pretty good one.

[golden]

Another thing I forgot to mention, Toronto has a better medical staff than SA. That may be a bonus when dealing with Kawhi.

Are you sure about that? The DeMarre Carroll injury situation was a disaster.

[GOLDBLUM]

Starters will be interesting but I'm more interested to see the closers.



(And, oh yeah, every lineup in between..)

[DanH]

Are they under enough to fill the void at the 2 with someone who can keep this team in the mix in the east?

Won't be under the cap - just going from well over the tax to well below it. If Kawhi bolts, they are screwed for 19-20, and are far more likely to chase deals where Lowry and Ibaka and JV go out for bad salary and picks back than to try to add another talent to stay afloat for a year. If they do want to compete in 19-20, it will be with a core of JV and Lowry and any of the young guys that step up (assuming JV opts in), plus maybe a MLE signing.