As first confirmed by Adrian Wojnarowski, the Spurs traded away Danny Green and star forward Kawhi Leonard to the Raptors in exchange for four-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and a protected 2019 first-round pick.
The Leonard drama had been raging for months on end and although he is no longer a member of the Spurs, he apparently still wasn’t too happy about his new landing spot. It was first reported that he did not want to play for the Raptors at all, which was then updated that he was “warming up” to the idea of playing for a championship contender (or at least a Conference Finals contender).
Toronto’s General Manager Masai Ujiri managed to trade away their star player (despite telling DeRozan that he wasn’t going to be traded) AND fire the reigning Coach of the Year in a span of 2 months. What Ujiri did with DeMar DeRozan is not necessarily fair, but what makes the whole thing worse is the fact that Kawhi doesn’t even necessarily want to be there. Ujiri’s choices seem awfully drastic for a team that just won a franchise-record 59 regular season games, good for the Eastern Conference #1 seed.
By reading all of the information above, it would seem as if only the Spurs really made out in this deal, which is not necessarily true when everything gets broken down. So with that being said, who won this trade?
The answer is both teams.
We’ll start with the positives for the Raptors. The benefits for San Antonio are endless, so those will be addressed at the end. Toronto has been a better-than-average team for several years now, with DeRozan and Kyle Lowry leading the way. Unfortunately, they’ve never been good enough, and haven’t found themselves in the Finals. Kawhi is stronger than DeRozan in almost every way, but there’s one massive downside… he might just be a one-year rental.
Kawhi still has his sights set on playing in Los Angeles, whether it be for the Lakers or Clippers. All of Toronto better get to work and try to make the two-time Defensive Player of the Year feel right at home. The Raptors need to show their faith in him and really give him the best possible situation there, or else he might be gone for literally nothing.
On another note, Danny Green (despite being 31 years old), is a very good player. He is an excellent 3-and-D guy that is seasoned and capable of picking up any slack. Green has rolled with Kawhi for years, and they have proven that they can work together for the team’s common good.
If Kawhi likes the city and likes new head coach Nick Nurse’s style, then he might remain there for the duration of his prime. This would prove to be the ultimate win for Toronto, and maybe Ujiri wouldn’t look so crazy after all.
San Antonio really has no cons at all in this deal, except if you count the fact that their next supposed franchise cornerstone found a way out without handling the situation professionally. That’s all in the past though, so R.C. Buford can only look forward with a smile on his face.
DeMar DeRozan is loyal, a leader, and arguably a superstar. He can score the ball, step up in big situations, and has proven himself before. The team still won 47 games without Kawhi playing for most of the 2017-2018 season, so giving LaMarcus Aldridge another high-caliber player to work with should make things normal again in Texas.
Jakob Poeltl is a strong, young talent that will learn from the veteran bigs that the Spurs already have. Pau Gasol is 38 years old, so Poeltl will be the perfect fit for when he calls it quits. The draft pick they received could turn into something good, and it probably will considering how well the franchise has always developed players.
Next season marks a new era for both of those teams, and the Spurs’ will undoubtedly last for years to come. For the Raptors, it’s a little different. It all depends on how badly they want to keep Kawhi in town.
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