Kawhi headed to Toronto

It was announced today that Kawhi Leonard was traded from the San Antonio Spurs along with Danny Green to the Toronto Raptors for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a protected 2019 first-round pick. It has long been rumored that Leonard wanted out of San Antonio after the squabbling that occurred over his injured quad. Team doctors said he was fine, but his private physician said he wasn't. This led to in-fighting and ultimately led to the demise of their relationship.

I find it curious that the Raptors would make this trade. Everyone knew that they needed to make some changes after once again losing to a Lebron James led team in the playoffs. The first change they made was to fire Head Coach Dwayne Casey, even though he led the Raptors to the #1 Seed in the Eastern Conference. However, team brass felt like more changes were needed. DeRozan did not have a good playoff series against the Cavaliers, but the team told him this summer that they would not trade him. Executives must have changed their minds.

It is also interesting that the Raptors would make this trade, for Leonard has bluntly stated that he wants to sign with an Los Angeles team in the 2019 free agency period, because he is from there. He has longed to head back home, so teams knew that the likelihood of him being a one-year rental was rather high. Almost a certainty. This did not change the mind of the Raptors. They are banking on the ability to convince Leonard that Toronto is the right city for him and being paired with Point Guard Kyle Lowry will lead them to a NBA Finals appearance.

Honestly, I feel like this was a really good trade for the Spurs. They knew that Leonard was not going to stick around. Whether he would refuse to play for them this season or leave free agency next season, they knew they had to get what they could now. And DeRozan is a darn good player. He had a bad playoff series, but he has exponentially improved his game every season and gives the Spurs a legitimate scorer to go along with LaMarcus Aldridge and Dejounte Murray. A fresh start could be exactly what DeRozan needed after the turmoil of consistently losing in the playoffs.

As for the Raptors, I understand why they did it. This will be their last chance to make it to the Finals with the way the roster is put together. Lowry is not getting any younger. Neither is Serge Ibaka. New blood and a new head coach. Lebron is gone to the west. The only thing standing in their way is two young, dynamic teams in the Celtics and the 76ers. I do not think this gives them enough to make it to the Finals. They will, at the beginning of free agency next season, realize that this was not a good trade for them and will most likely go in to rebuild mode. I've been wrong before but I just don't think Leonard puts them over the hump. We will see, though. It should be an exciting season...even though we know the Warriors will win it all again.

Thanks for stopping by and reading!

One love,

@jgullinese