The San Antonio Spurs have agreed to trade Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors for DeMar DeRozan. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnawowski and Chris Haynes. Danny Green will also be joining Leonard on the trip up north while Toronto will be sending Jakob Poeltl, as well as a protected 2019 first round pick along with DeRozan.
The trade marks the end of a long road for the Spurs and their back and forth battle to retain Leonard. They didn’t really get anywhere by trying to communicate with him so they made the best of the situation and are getting an all-star player in DeRozan in return, where as they could have lost Leonard for nothing next summer in free agency. That same pending free agency is what makes the move somewhat surprising for the Raptors.
It is widely assumed that Leonard will have no desire to stay in Toronto long term and if he walks away next summer, this deal will look very bad for the Raptors. According to Wojnarowski, neither player is excited about the news and DeRozan made that obvious with his Instagram story.
Basketball wise the move makes great sense for the Spurs, who have DeRozan locked up for three more years at around $83 million dollars left on his deal. Once he gets passed the hurt feelings, DeRozan may actually wind up being happy with his new destination but the same will not be said for Leonard and the Raptors. For this upcoming season the deal may be a win for the Raptors but they are taking a very big long term gamble.
More details will be updated as they become available.
Written by @IamJoeSports
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