Quote:
Originally Posted by EricVR4
Crazy move by Toronto, and stupid. Leonard obviously wants to go to LA, as he told the Spurs several times. If he really wants to go, he'll just opt out after next season and sign with either the Lakers or Clippers and take slight pay cut. And then Toronto is screwed....they just traded their highest scorer and then Kawhi leaves  |
I thought like this too originally, but it's not stupid at all. Demar would've opted out of his deal a year later for more money anyway. If Kawhi wants to leave after this season, we can sign-and-trade his ass to LA, with the hope that MAYBE they'd be willing to part with a Brandon Ingram-type dude to make it happen. Once Lowry's contract is up the year after, Toronto currently only has Norman Powell on it's books - which means incredible cap flexibility. If Kawhi decides to stay, Toronto still should have all kinds of cap space to bring in talent to surround the guy. I'm hearing Kevin Love or Jimmy Butler as possible trade targets at the moment.
While I'm as disappointed as anyone that we gave up Demar, the value we gave up relative to what we got (potential top 5 player) makes it a no-brainer whether Kawhi decides to leave or not.