Poll

Toronto are in the Finals. If Kawhi leaves this summer, was the trade worth it?

Yes, but only if he leads them to a Championship
10 (27%)
Yes, it's worth it just making the Finals
25 (67.6%)
No, it wasn't worth it if he's going to leave after a season no matter the result
2 (5.4%)

Total Members Voted: 37

Author Topic: Toronto are in the Finals. If Kawhi leaves this summer, was the trade worth it?  (Read 4063 times)

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Offline BringToughnessBack

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If he stays it is obviously worth it . If he leaves a team that made or potentially wins the finals it was absolutely not worth it. In fact, it tells many superstar free agents that even with an amazing season ,trip to finals, and fans who love you, I still did not want to stay in Toronto long term. That is putting Toronto on a map for a location that most dont want to be in.

They have to get him to commit. I hope he leaves and heads west. Come on Doc, put your recruiting hat on.

Offline SparzWizard

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Makes you wonder if the Kawhi-led Raptors could have beaten a LeBron-led slightly upgraded Cavs team, if LeBron stayed.


#JTJB (Just Trade Jaylen Brown)
#JFJM (Just Fire Joe Mazzulla)

Offline Green-18

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Makes you wonder if the Kawhi-led Raptors could have beaten a LeBron-led slightly upgraded Cavs team, if LeBron stayed.

I don't think LeBron could have carried a Cavs team past Kawhi and his supporting cast.   Kawhi had reached LeBron's level prior to the playoff injury in 2017. 

Obviously they are very different, with James being a more versatile and singularly dominant player on offense.  Kawhi's defensive impact is where he has a significant edge at this point in their careers.  His effort on that end of the floor sets the tone for the rest of the team.  LeBron can dial it up when necessary but his teams can't hang their hat on defense.   

 



Offline BitterJim

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If he stays it is obviously worth it . If he leaves a team that made or potentially wins the finals it was absolutely not worth it. In fact, it tells many superstar free agents that even with an amazing season ,trip to finals, and fans who love you, I still did not want to stay in Toronto long term. That is putting Toronto on a map for a location that most dont want to be in.

They have to get him to commit. I hope he leaves and heads west. Come on Doc, put your recruiting hat on.

You don't think winning a championship would make it worth it? This is Toronto we're talking about, they have a chance to win their first championship ever... and all they gave up was a forst rounder and players that were never going to get them even as close as they are now

I just can't see Kawhi leaving meaning that no superstars will ever play there. 1. Because I don't think they were lining up to play there before, so even if they did that wouldn't be much of a change 2. because different stars have different priorities. KD leaving OKC didn't stop PG from re-signing there, etc. and 3. Kawhi wanted out of San Antonio, so I don't know why players would assume that Toronto is a bad place to be if he wants out of there, too

I can definitely understand saying that the trade wasn't worth it if they don't win a chip (I'm on the fence about whether they need to win or not), but winning is the ultimate goal. If trading for Kawhi gets you there, it's worth it even if he leaves a year later
I'm bitter.

Offline Csfan1984

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 Where the franchise was it is worth it even if he walks. They were stuck and aging take a shot with a top ten player. Rebuild if it doesn't work out.

Offline LilRip

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It’s already worth it. Where was Derozan Lowry going to lead you? Would Poetl have been a world beater? Toronto wasn’t sniffing the finals in the do nothing scenario and if Kawhi leaves, they can kick start the rebuild much sooner than if they had DD
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Offline timpiker

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No way no how.

Offline jambr380

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People seem to forget that the Raptors actually won more games last year than this year and if it was not for their kryponite (Lebron), they would have strolled to the Finals past the Cs.

I am certainly not saying that Kawhi isn't a better player than DeRozan, but with Siakam taking a huge leap forward and with the acquisition of a player like Gasol, this isn't exactly a surprise.

I agree that the Raptors were looking like they had peaked (who knew about Siakam?) and with so many big contracts coming off the books after next season, it was probably worth it to make a big splash.

Offline Fierce1

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For a franchise like Toronto, a team with ZERO championships, the trade was worth it.

But for a team like the Celts, no way!

Only Anthony Davis is worth the risk, for a franchise like the Celts.

Offline bopna

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Kawhi is very hard to read..

If they lose the Finals he would 100% leave.

If they win, his heart will be so torned to leave but I'd still say he would explore FA... It will be close though.. So what do I know, maybe he will be convinced to do a 2 Yr max contract with the second being a player option to allow them to defend the championship and he doesn't come across as a bad rep for the raptor fans.

Offline Endless Paradise

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Of course. What did they sacrifice for their Finals run? A few more second-round exits with DeRozan and the 29th pick in this draft? Poeltl is a nice depth piece, but he’s not remotely a difference maker unless he makes a similar leap to Siakam.

The Raptors likely lose to the Sixers with DeRozan in Kawhi’s place in the playoffs.

They were already staring down a rebuild in the near future before the trade as the Lowry-DeRozan core had clearly stagnated. If Kawhi leaves, that rebuild becomes a lot easier to pull off without DeRozan on the books for two more seasons. Let’s not forget the added benefit of this Finals run raising the profile of the Raptors’ other players and therefore their potential trade value. A guy like Ibaka or Lowry looks a lot more attractive to other on-the-cusp teams as valuable contributors to a Finals team as opposed to underperformers who exited in the second round.

Offline Fierce1

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Of course. What did they sacrifice for their Finals run? A few more second-round exits with DeRozan and the 29th pick in this draft? Poeltl is a nice depth piece, but he’s not remotely a difference maker unless he makes a similar leap to Siakam.

The Raptors likely lose to the Sixers with DeRozan in Kawhi’s place in the playoffs.

They were already staring down a rebuild in the near future before the trade as the Lowry-DeRozan core had clearly stagnated. If Kawhi leaves, that rebuild becomes a lot easier to pull off without DeRozan on the books for two more seasons. Let’s not forget the added benefit of this Finals run raising the profile of the Raptors’ other players and therefore their potential trade value. A guy like Ibaka or Lowry looks a lot more attractive to other on-the-cusp teams as valuable contributors to a Finals team as opposed to underperformers who exited in the second round.

Totally agree with you!

Offline IDreamCeltics

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Of course. What did they sacrifice for their Finals run? A few more second-round exits with DeRozan and the 29th pick in this draft? Poeltl is a nice depth piece, but he’s not remotely a difference maker unless he makes a similar leap to Siakam.

The Raptors likely lose to the Sixers with DeRozan in Kawhi’s place in the playoffs.

They were already staring down a rebuild in the near future before the trade as the Lowry-DeRozan core had clearly stagnated. If Kawhi leaves, that rebuild becomes a lot easier to pull off without DeRozan on the books for two more seasons. Let’s not forget the added benefit of this Finals run raising the profile of the Raptors’ other players and therefore their potential trade value. A guy like Ibaka or Lowry looks a lot more attractive to other on-the-cusp teams as valuable contributors to a Finals team as opposed to underperformers who exited in the second round.

Don't forget that Kawhi is a 2x DPOY, a champion, a finals MVP, 3x All-NBA, and 5x all-defense.  He's literally never played on a team that didn't make the playoffs. 

He's basically the exact player Danny Ainge has been insisting for years you horde assets to acquire when they become available. 


Offline celticsclay

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Makes you wonder if the Kawhi-led Raptors could have beaten a LeBron-led slightly upgraded Cavs team, if LeBron stayed.

Bucks and raptors would have beaten 34 year old Lebron and the husk of Kevin love pretty easily. They barely beat jayson Tatum and Jayden Brown. Also there isn’t really a reason to think Lebron would not have been injured just like he was in LA

Offline Ogaju

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we are here talking about the Raptors in the finals, yes it is worth it. They did not give up that much for him. The problem with Ainge hoarding assets is that other teams see his cache of assets and they want him to overpay.