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Well that sucks. A few days ago I thought Kawai was going to sign with Toronto.
I guess things haven't changed. Despite being a large cosmopolitan city with vast entertainment options the Raptors will always be a distant second for elite American free agent ballers and will have to settle for those a tier below or past their prime like Gasol and Ibaka and Lowry. |
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Sixers have gained Horford though, and the Celtics Kemba. Kyrie is a great player but was apparently pretty toxic as a leader - they'll likely be better off without him. Didn't realize Brogdon was gone, but the Bucks still have their core of Giannis & Middleton. As you say they'll probably still be first seed. Quote:
I don't think the quality of the city or the weather or any of that stuff matters to NBA players as much as it might to some of us - I mean how else could you explain the (past) strength of places like Oklahoma City or Cleveland? More than anything it's the US income tax on Americans working abroad that probably does it. And while some of Lou Williams' comments the other day may have seemed petty, they probably reflect the attitude of most American players. The Raptors road to success lies drafting & developing promising young players (see: DeRozan, Siakam, Van Vleet, Carter, etc) and signing or trading for big-name Canadian & international free agents. Aside from focusing on Giannis next year, we should also be looking at the possibility of acquiring dudes like RJ Barrett, Jamal Murry, and Joel Embiid, among others in the future. |
Sixers strength is all up front, they have nothing in the backcourt as Simmons again proved this season. For the Celtics, Walker replacing Irving is at best a lateral move, while losing Horford weakens an already underperforming forecourt. Indiana looks to be improved with Oladipo coming back and after siging Brogdon.
I'm interested to see what the Raptors do to improve their bench, as drones like Lin, Meeks, Miller and Moreland should be gone. Does Boucher improve sufficiently to become a rotation player? Who else can they find? Signing Stanley Johnson and Matt Thomas isn't gonna do it, though Thomas is reputedly a super three shooter. |
Don't take it personally, Toronto.
Remember John Tavares' tweet of him as a kid in Maple Leafs bedsheets? Yeah. |
Not sure what the city has to do with it. The story is he is going to the Clippers because they acquired Paul George. If they hadn't, he was coming back to the Raptors. Yes LA is his home and there was always that but it was the George trade that triggered the signing.
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Thank you Kawai, all the best.
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Apparently the Raptors couldnt or wouldnt do this deal with OKC. OKC lso wanted Siakam in return. He is The Raps future. Kudos to Kawhis camp for getting it done. Raps aim for Giannis 2022. |
I wouldn't put that much weight on the George trade. He's a family man. His 20 million dollar house is there. He's endorsement will be better if he doesn't win a championship with the Clippers but, imagine his stock value if he wins with the Clippers.
The only option with Toronto would have been a 2 year deal and its success would have been contingent on going back to back. Basketball is probably the easiest league to go back to back but, I don't know if Kahwi's Raptor are the strongest team in the league. Riskier deal. |
Word is Kawhi told the Clippers if they got George they got him. He wanted to be in LA but he also doesnt want to have to lay it all on the line every regular season game to fight for a ~4 seed.
Toronto didnt have that guarantee which is why Masai was much more hesitant to meet OKCs price. |
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Is this what team sports should be? A city supports you and invests in you and these guys don't give a second thought about abandoning that city. And these guys teaming up so they can dominate. I guess they are within their rights to do that, but it doesn't seem right. Edit - The more I read this story, the angrier I get. This absolutely stinks. https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...tching-durant/ https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...eorge-away-okc |
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Dude, that's the NBA. Championships are decided by which star players deciding on what team they all want to join together. That's why I don't care for the NBA, it's uninteresting as a league unless your team is one the chosen locations for these improv dream teams.
This year was one of the rare years the NBA was interesting because of Toronto's win, but that was only because KD was out, and Klay Thompson wasn't on his A game. Quote:
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Don't forget, the Raptors got Kawhi by doing DeRozan dirty. The last thing any Raptors fan can do is turn around and be upset Kawhi did what he felt was best for him. |
And he was only available to the Raptors because everybody knew he was going to bolt for LA after the season.
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They'll always be US-first, no doubt about it. I mean how could they not be? It is even true of the NHL now. |
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People from Ontario gave me shit for that I wonder what they will do to one of their own? |
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