The OtherArena

[Dave Dymond]

I live in Toronto, and of course all the media can talk about right now is the Raptors big win. However, there is also rampant speculation going on in the media about the future of Kawhi Leonard. Although it has not been made official, the accepted story going around is that the Raptors have already offered Leonard a five year, $190 Million dollar contract, but he has reportedly told them that he is still going to file for Free Agency on June 30 in order to hear other offers.

One of the big issues is that he apparently is quite fond of Masai Ujiri, the President of the Toronto Raptors. There is a lot of speculation that Ujiri is going to be leaving Toronto to go to the Washington Wizards as President/GM and perhaps a minority owner. The story is that if Masai Ujiri leaves Toronto, Kawhi will definitely not sign with Toronto.

The other issue is (and this is the reason I am bringing it up in this thread) that Kawhi Leonard is from LA, and has supposedly told a bunch of people off the record that no matter what, he wants to go home. The media here in Toronto feel that Kawhi is planning on signing with the Lakers for sure. Other reports suggest that he would be content to sign with the Clippers. Leonard himself refuses to discuss his plans with the media but he has said many times that money will not be the deciding factor in his decision. So you LA fans could end up seeing Kawhi Leonard coming home very soon.

Ironically, the media was also speculating that if Kawhi Leonard did leave Toronto, the Raptors would make a full on push to trade for Anthony Davis. I guess that isn't happening.

[jdw]

Broke this off to be the starter for the 2020 NBA thread... because who knows where The Claw is going. :)

BTW - congrats on Toronto winning the title. I was rooting for the Duba, but the Raptors winning the title is a great story. Their fans went through a lot of tough times over the years. The franchise also took a lot of crap over the last five years for being a good / very good team, but not strong enough to get to the finals. I really hate when teams like that have to eat crap. It's one thing when teams like the Lakers or Celtics have the history and fall short. But this was the best era of Raptors hoops even before the title. It's far better to be able to watch that than all the down years.

[corrado]

So it looks like Chris Paul is set to be part of another team next year:

https://sports.yahoo.com/sources-relationship-between-rockets-stars-james-harden-chris-paul-termed-unsalvageable-200951028.html

God luck to whoever finds it necessary to acquire him.

[corrado]

OKC may be shedding some salary as Steven Adams, Andre Roberson and Dennis Schroder might be on the block.

[JAG]

Look everyone:

Danny Ainge has restocked his war chest.

LMAO

Jagdip

[corrado]

Well Kemba Walker is going to be part of the Celtics signing a 4/141 deal. He has less baggage than Kyrie and won't be a bother to the young Celts.

[corrado]

So like I said months ago, Durant and Kyrie are going to play for a New York team, Except its the Nets that are going to sign Durant and Kyrie to Max deals. Don't forget Durant is out for next year though.

[jdw]

Damn... I wish we could have brought Ed Davis back on a cheapo deal.

[corrado]

So some of the other big moves tonight:

Al Horford going to Philly.

Jimmy Butler seems headed to Miami.

Tobias Harris resigns with Philly.

And as a result of Durant being traded, D'Angelo Russell is traded...

to the Warriors. With Klay out, he'll get some chances to prove he still has ice on his veins.

I would have to say one of the more underrated moves is the Pelicans signing JJ Redick. He's going to be great in the locker room teaching Zion and the former young Laker stars.

[corrado]

Warriors resign Kevon Looney. Very vital part to the team. He should be starting, since the Hamptons 5 is no more.

[Steve Yohe]

Wish someone would give Cousins some money, before the Lakers get ideas. Or even the Clips.

[jdw]

The Clips aren't going in that direction.

[jdw]

This is a good piece contrasting Bobby Portis and his contract with Kevon Looney and his contract:

Bobby Portis Is A Lesson In The Cost Of Doing Business With Bad NBA Teams

John

[jdw]

Iggy getting traded is hard. Knew it was coming given his contract. Lots of buzz he will end up with the Lakers after getting cut, though other good teams are possible as well... especially ones that have more money to offer. But... these years with the Dubs have been marvelous to watch Iggy play his part. :(

[jdw]

Raptors are going to be interesting to watch. With Claw and Green gone, it's time to offload the rest of the vets and see what they can place around Siakam and VanVleet to determine if (i) it's enough to turn into a team that can stay in the playoff hunt for the next 4+ years, and (ii) if those two are worth the big money extensions that will be shortly coming for them.

Gasol is an expensive but expiring contract, and he did show that on a smart team he still is valuable in a certain role. I kind of wish that he went to the Dubs on a vet minimum just for shits and giggles on how well he would play with them. But that won't work at $25M this year.

Lowry is an expiring $33M contract. I don't see anyone touching that until the trade deadline, and even then not getting much back.

Ibaka is a $23M expiring contract. He does some good stuff, though is 3P shooting when to crap after a long stretch of good shooting from deep. He still boards okay, not the shot blocker of his youth but still will pull out some big ones, and sort of has accepted he's not going to be a massive star and instead is a role player. Some team might give up something for him.

It's tough to see those guys getting a haul, though maybe some team out there will be marks.