NBA Offseason

[kskboys]

If I'm a Toronto fan I'd be livid, if I'm a San Antonio fan, I'd be elated

nah, it's a salary dump for them.

 

[Vegas_Cowboy]

N

nah, it's a salary dump for them.

Never thought of that. That makes sense.

 

[JoeKing]

Raptors fan here, not a big fan of the trade. Talent wise, Toronto wins, but...for 1 year. That's it. After this, we gave away our most loyal superstar in franchise history, for a 1 year rental. Made the team look bad, especially after telling him we wouldn't trade him.

Rough day.

If the Raptors are smart they will now flip Kawhi over to LA and get everything they can for him. I doubt Kawhi even shows up in Totonto. He's a strange guy and I say that as a Spurs fan and he has won us a ship and been MVP.

 

[JoeKing]

Knowing Kawhi was never going to be the same guy again for the Spurs, I'm glad he's gone and we got someone and maybe a bit more for him. I'm curious to see how San Antonio uses this protected 1st round pick in the 2019 draft. That is how the Spurs FO makes their fans love this deal. If they hit the jackpot with that pick like they did when they got guys like David Robinson or Tim Duncan then everything will be okay in SA. 2018-2019... no Tony Parker, no Kawhi, no Danny Green, no Kyle Anderson... the roster is churning and I'm going to have a little difficulty getting use to it. But I know once I see DeRosen, Aldridge, Gasol, Gay, and Murray gel on the court, I'll be feeling better about it. I believe Grandpa "Juice" Ginobili is coming back to lead our bench. So It's not like it's too much change.

 

[jterrell]

How many games does it take to accrue the year?

have to report by 30th day. i do not know if this date starts at first official nba day of new season year or what tbh.
i just know he has to report and the latest tweet i read about it said he is "warming up" to idea of playing in toronto.
lol because he has no choice.

 

[jterrell]

No one thought George would stay in OKC. Toronto can still give him there biggest contract

50M more in toronto. all GTD.
that's ummmm, a lot.

and the team with him (and Danny Green) is top 2 in the East easily.

 

[jterrell]

Raptors fan here, not a big fan of the trade. Talent wise, Toronto wins, but...for 1 year. That's it. After this, we gave away our most loyal superstar in franchise history, for a 1 year rental. Made the team look bad, especially after telling him we wouldn't trade him.

Rough day.

Raps were in a tough spot.
You had a maxed out roster, little room for improvement and no belief you could win playoff series versus BOS or PHI.
This move adds two guys with rings and 1 guy who was an NBA Finals MVP over LeBron.
He'd completely shut down Ben Simmons. Or Jayson Tatum. Or just about anyone but the very best scorers in the world.
All while getting 25 points and 8 rebounds.

The Lakers fans and media are driving the Kawhi conversation but there's little reason to believe he won't show and give his 100% this year to win games.
And again the pressure is on the Lakers to show the team they have now isn't a mess, save cap room in 2019 for Kawhi and remain a destination he truly wants.
This trade was terrible news for Lakers fans IMHO.

I'd say odds actually favor Kawhi having a great season in the East where there are 3 good teams then ballast.
Loving an international city like Toronto where he can be somewhat anonymous day to day and him taking the 190M.

 

[phildadon86]

50M more in toronto. all GTD.
that's ummmm, a lot.

and the team with him (and Danny Green) is top 2 in the East easily.

Not to mention the marketing opportunities for him in BOTH countries. People are all convinced hes leaving. I am not. A player of his caliber can cash in big time in Toronto, and Toronto is also like the 5th biggest market in the NBA.

 

[jterrell]

Not to mention the marketing opportunities for him in BOTH countries. People are all convinced hes leaving. I am not. A player of his caliber can cash in big time in Toronto, and Toronto is also like the 5th biggest market in the NBA.

All I know is I can think of examples like Paul George and Carmelo where they publicly stated while under contract they planned to go somewhere and then ended up doing a 180 when free to choose.
I can't really think of instances where a guy said hey, when I am a FA in 12 plus months I will go to spot X and then actually did except in cases of buy outs where the move could be made in weeks not months or years.

And again how many of the top 6 NBA teams will operate to be under the cap next year?
Bovada odds has GS, BOS, LAL, HOU, PHI, TOR.
And reality is those odds would be very different if everyone knew LAL would stay pat and not make more trades in season.
Of those 6 two teams could have practical cap space of over 15M. LAL at 27M or so and PHI at 40M.

So LAL has to free up another 5M off it's practical cap space over the course of this season (for Kawhi) or next off-season which is insanely limiting.
PHI can add up to 8M in cap space and still afford a super max deal.
The other 4 teams are worry free as they won't be operating as cap space teams.
If they want a supermax guy they have to trade for them.

What this means is LAL is operating all year with a hand tied behind their back as they must lose cap space or trade for a super max guy.

 

[Roadtrip635]

Not to mention the marketing opportunities for him in BOTH countries. People are all convinced hes leaving. I am not. A player of his caliber can cash in big time in Toronto, and Toronto is also like the 5th biggest market in the NBA.

Kawhi just isn't a big marketing draw and it wasn't just about being in small market San Antonio. He's painfully quiet, shuns any kind of spotlight, had to be even talked into doing postgame interviews, has little to no social media presence, just a lot of traits advertisers and companies aren't thrilled with. He also needs to repair his brand and image and starting off with the having no interest in playing for the Raptors and now that he's warming to the idea, are not enthusiastic responses that a company wants to hear.

Does Southwest airlines fly to Toronto? I could definitely see him being a great spokesman for them, show a shot of Kawhi in a Canadian blizzard, then cut to a Cali beach with their tagline........"Wanna get away?"

 

[jterrell]

sweet tool. even it is brutal to my mavs, lol.

baw wont let me link the googlesheets spreadsheet but alas...

 

[jterrell]

Kawhi just isn't a big marketing draw and it wasn't just about being in small market San Antonio. He's painfully quiet, shuns any kind of spotlight, had to be even talked into doing postgame interviews, has little to no social media presence, just a lot of traits advertisers and companies aren't thrilled with. He also needs to repair his brand and image and starting off with the having no interest in playing for the Raptors and now that he's warming to the idea, are not enthusiastic responses that a company wants to hear.

Does Southwest airlines fly to Toronto? I could definitely see him being a great spokesman for them, show a shot of Kawhi in a Canadian blizzard, then cut to a Cali beach with their tagline........"Wanna get away?"

yea, the marketing thing is hilariously goofy.
kawhi isn't doing marketing blitzes. lol.
this dude is not lavar ball.

 

[jterrell]

sweet tool. even it is brutal to my mavs, lol.

baw wont let me link the googlesheets spreadsheet but alas...

as a note these update as players sign.
Marcus Smart takes Boston to +6.1

 

[Derekmtl85]

Raps were in a tough spot.
You had a maxed out roster, little room for improvement and no belief you could win playoff series versus BOS or PHI.
This move adds two guys with rings and 1 guy who was an NBA Finals MVP over LeBron.
He'd completely shut down Ben Simmons. Or Jayson Tatum. Or just about anyone but the very best scorers in the world.
All while getting 25 points and 8 rebounds.

The Lakers fans and media are driving the Kawhi conversation but there's little reason to believe he won't show and give his 100% this year to win games.
And again the pressure is on the Lakers to show the team they have now isn't a mess, save cap room in 2019 for Kawhi and remain a destination he truly wants.
This trade was terrible news for Lakers fans IMHO.

I'd say odds actually favor Kawhi having a great season in the East where there are 3 good teams then ballast.
Loving an international city like Toronto where he can be somewhat anonymous day to day and him taking the 190M.

Apparently during the Toronto all-star week-end he did not leave his hotel, did not like the cold or the city.

But yeah like i said talent wise, this is a win for Toronto. And worst case, we rebuild after next year instead of in 2 years when all the big contracts were up. Rough day just because Derozan was lying as heck, and a really good guy from every source in Toronto.

 

[darthseinfeld]

4 years 52 for Smart. Just glad it got done

Choice was effectively made between him and Rozier. For this team Smart was the correct choice.

Good dollar amount for Smart. He is definitely worth that

 

[jterrell]

Apparently during the Toronto all-star week-end he did not leave his hotel, did not like the cold or the city.

But yeah like i said talent wise, this is a win for Toronto. And worst case, we rebuild after next year instead of in 2 years when all the big contracts were up. Rough day just because Derozan was lying as heck, and a really good guy from every source in Toronto.

kawhi doesn't go out much of anywhere.
he's a serious introvert.
he's had the same live in gf forever and he moved her form cali to san antonio.

his college coach would drive to his house because kawhi wouldn't answer calls or texts, lol.

it can be hard to distinguish laker noise from fact because there are so many unabashed laker homers that report nonsense.
we know kawhi is an LA guy and he played collegiately at San Diego State.
he's a Kobe and MJ fan moreso than LeBron. --he has quotes from long ago about who he emulated.

toronto got a lot better with that trade for 2018.
i dont know what the future holds but i know the lakers are 1 out of about 12 for the last stars they've chased. including whiffing on LBJ twice before.

 

[jterrell]

4 years 52 for Smart. Just glad it got done

Choice was effectively made between him and Rozier. For this team Smart was the correct choice.

Good dollar amount for Smart. He is definitely worth that

Marcus Smart is a really, really good player.
Better than people realize and and a winning piece.
He has to learn to hit 3's but he has a ceiling that's basically Klay Thompson if he does.
He is tough as nails and will defend anyone.
He is a true gym rat that lives the game and has leadership qualities.

 

[JoeKing]

Kawhi will not find happiness in Canada.

 

[kskboys]

Knowing Kawhi was never going to be the same guy again for the Spurs, I'm glad he's gone and we got someone and maybe a bit more for him. I'm curious to see how San Antonio uses this protected 1st round pick in the 2019 draft. That is how the Spurs FO makes their fans love this deal. If they hit the jackpot with that pick like they did when they got guys like David Robinson or Tim Duncan then everything will be okay in SA. 2018-2019... no Tony Parker, no Kawhi, no Danny Green, no Kyle Anderson... the roster is churning and I'm going to have a little difficulty getting use to it. But I know once I see DeRosen, Aldridge, Gasol, Gay, and Murray gel on the court, I'll be feeling better about it. I believe Grandpa "Juice" Ginobili is coming back to lead our bench. So It's not like it's too much change.

You don't get Robinson's and Duncan's w/ late 1st round picks.

 

[JoeKing]

You don't get Robinson's and Duncan's w/ late 1st round picks.

Yeah, you right. I need to adjust my expectations accordingly but I still think the Spurs can maximize this deal with a soild draft pick.