Basketball in Canada - Page 88

SignalHillHiker · #**1741** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 11:56 AM**

Sorry you lost Kawhi, TO - but grats again on the championship!

The memes this morning are great. A couple Reddit comments:

Does this affect his chances of signing with the Lakers?

Hey all six Clippers fans STAND UP! And go fuck yourselves.

Canadians: KING IN THE NORTH!
Kawhi: I don't want it.

Bishop2047 · #**1742** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 12:32 PM**

I am glad to see there is not a great feeling of hatred towards the guy. He wants to be close to home and he won a championship for t.o.
I am looking forward to the soft rebuild year the raptors have ahead of them. Can still see them being the 4th seed in the east, but more than likely 6-5 seed.

Milwaukee
76ers
Pacers
Boston
Toronto
Nets
Pistons
Miami

MonctonRad · #**1743** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 12:52 PM**

Indeed, no hard feelings for Kawhi at all. He did what he was supposed to do and brought a championship to Toronto.

I honestly think the reason why he's going to LA is simply so he can play in his home town. You have to respect that.

Thanks Kawhi.

Berklon · #**1744** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 2:01 PM**

It's not surprising that Kawhi signed with the Clippers - I figured he'd wind up going back home to one of the LA teams. Can't fault him for that.

The Raptors made a huge gamble in trading for him. Had they not traded for him, I'm 99.9% sure they wouldn't have won the title. So this gamble totally paid off - it got them something that they wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

The Raptors are NBA Champions. That's all that matters.

EpicPonyTime · #**1745** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 2:53 PM**

Green is also leaving to LA to sign with the Lakers. Hope he finds success there. He waited until Kawai's decision before leaving because he wanted to stay here and try for the repeat. A lot of respect for the "other" in that trade.

suburbanite · #**1746** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 3:09 PM**

Happy that Kawhi got what he wanted. Raptors can be comfortable knowing that as a basketball organization, they did pretty much everything right. Unfortunately the one thing that mattered most is out of their control.

JHikka · #**1747** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 3:26 PM**

Kawhi had nothing left to prove in Toronto. Not surprising to see him sign elsewhere.

OldDartmouthMark · #**1748** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 4:41 PM**

It was a good run, but the main thing is that Ujiri decided to stay in Toronto, and he is the whole reason that the Kawhi thing happened in the first place.

Next season probably won't be overly successful (it will still be competitive without Kawhi and Green), but give them a couple of years and I suspect the team will be built up to championship level again.

Kawhi has to look out for Kawhi and knows more than anybody what he needs to be happy (to live in his home state in this case, it appears). The rest is just business, as professional sports figures are today's hired guns, they go where the work is, and if they are really good they get to choose where they go...

SaskScraper · #**1749** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 4:51 PM**

It took the Toronto basketball team 30 years to get the formula right with acquiring players & to win a championship, nice that it finally happened & the city can enter the American Kawhi guy into legendary status.

As far as his trade to Clippers, not surprising, it sounds like a good fit, he can go back home to relative obscurity in LA and enjoy some assemblance of privacy again which simply wasn't possible in crazy shenanigans of the GTA anymore.

Toronto has a way of being it's own worst enemy as far as sports go.

Denscity · #**1750** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 4:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

It takes one second to learn the spelling of his name. It's neither Kawai or Kawaih. It looks really bad on you.

There's no need for further comebacks. It's a ridiculous grasp that paparazzi and fanatics will impact this business decision potentially in the hundreds of millions.

The spelling I used was from others posters in this thread and ya I still have no idea how to spell it. Is it cute in Japanese?
I do like him though he his humble despite his incredible skills.

TownGuy · #**1751** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 4:56 PM**

There was very similar stuff going on in LA with the billboards and all that

yaletown_fella · #**1752** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 4:57 PM**

I'm actually happy that Kawhi didnt go to the Lakers.

Danny Green leaving is more dissapointing, seeing as he seemed more committed to staying in town with his podcast , community outreach etc.

Denscity · #**1753** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 4:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

I know he was goading you guys but with all due respect this is taking the cult thing a bit far. This dude is not a religious figure whose name must be known and spelled properly by everyone, lest it be a travesty.

Thanks Acajack. BC is so far from Toronto that I'm not sure I've ever seen it spelled out before.

Denscity · #**1754** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 5:06 PM**

Has Drake been interviewed since the decision? Hugs for him.
Maybe the helicopter chasing like OJ was too much so he left?

SaskScraper · #**1755** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 5:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denscity

Thanks Acajack. BC is so far from Toronto that I'm not sure I've ever seen it spelled out before.

The fortunate thing about the Kawihi trade to LA is that BC & Western Canadians will have less distance to go to see him play games!... since Torontonians seem to endorse his skills quite highly, apparently.

Denscity · #**1756** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 5:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaskScraper

The fortunate thing about the Kawihi trade to LA is that BC & Western Canadians will have less distance to go to see him play games!... since Torontonians seem to endorse his skills quite highly, apparently.

Ya I was gonna say now that Kawhi is closer and in the same time zone I'm gonna cheer for him and his new team.
Go Clippers!

rousseau · #**1757** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 6:26 PM**

I'm amazed at all the equanimity I'm seeing in the media. Me, I'm angry. All that good feeling, all that outpouring of love and affectation spurned like a cold and calculating mercenary. It seems heartless to me. I enjoyed this championship season a lot, but it is tainted now.

I know it's just pro sports, but the promise and excitement of it was supposed to be transcendent. Turns out it wasn't. That stings.

Oh well, at least we have some trollish stupidity to take the edge off. This is my favourite:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denscity

Ya I was gonna say now that Kawhi is closer and in the same time zone I'm gonna cheer for him and his new team.
Go Clippers!

Kawhi is now just 2,000 km away from me instead of 4,000 km, so he's "closer"!

GernB · #**1758** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 6:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rousseau

I'm amazed at all the equanimity I'm seeing in the media. Me, I'm angry. All that good feeling, all that outpouring of love and affectation spurned like a cold and calculating mercenary. It seems heartless to me. I enjoyed this championship season a lot, but it is tainted now.

I know it's just pro sports, but the promise and excitement of it was supposed to be transcendent. Turns out it wasn't. That stings.

Oh well, at least we have some trollish stupidity to take the edge off. This is my favourite:

Kawhi is now just 2,000 km away from me instead of 4,000 km, so he's "closer"!

Me too. Toronto resurrected his career and he led a whole country on before doing exactly what he planned all along. The consolation is the Raptors still have a top team - probably 2nd seed in the east and the Clippers are nowhere near the organization that the Raptors are. Siakam is an all-star next year, Anunoby moves to the starting lineup and Vanvleet takes Green's spot. Clippers will ride Leonard hard (no more talk of load management there) and will not make it out of the west. Toronto still very much in the mix and lots of cap space. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

MonkeyRonin · #**1759** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 7:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GernB

Me too. Toronto resurrected his career and he led a whole country on before doing exactly what he planned all along. The consolation is the Raptors still have a top team - probably 2nd seed in the east and the Clippers are nowhere near the organization that the Raptors are. Siakam is an all-star next year, Anunoby moves to the starting lineup and Vanvleet takes Green's spot. Clippers will ride Leonard hard (no more talk of load management there) and will not make it out of the west. Toronto still very much in the mix and lots of cap space. Don't let the door it you on the way out.

The Raptors should still have a decent enough squad for a 5th-6th seed performance and first-round playoff exit, but I definitely can't see them going any further. The eastern conference was tough enough last year with Leonard, and this year it's only going to be harder. Bucks are more or less the same group, only with more experience now. The Sixers and Celtics are looking better than they did last year, and now there's the Nets to worry about too (big TBD based on KD's health though).

There are still some big questions for the Raptors though - namely, will Siakam continue his ascent to superstar status, or has he hit his ceiling this past season? And now that Anunoby is healthy again, will this one be his breakout year as some commentators were predicting before the injuries & illness? The Raptors also seem to have a propensity for developing young players - will there be any new breakout bench performances this year?

Regardless though, it's the 2020-2021 season we should be focusing on now. With Lowry, Gasol, and Ibaka's contracts expiring, we'll have the room and hopefully the ability to woo Giannis; and start building a new squad around him & Siakam.

Nicko999 · #**1760** Posted **Jul 6, 2019, 7:16 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Berklon

It's not surprising that Kawhi signed with the Clippers - I figured he'd wind up going back home to one of the LA teams. Can't fault him for that.

The Raptors made a huge gamble in trading for him. Had they not traded for him, I'm 99.9% sure they wouldn't have won the title. So this gamble totally paid off - it got them something that they wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

The Raptors are NBA Champions. That's all that matters.

Pretty much...

I am surprised Toronto was in the race as long as it did. That tells us a lot about the city as a basketball market.

Ultimately, LA has better climate, lower taxes, more marketing potential and most importantly is Kawhi's hometown so it was a no brainer.