The past weekend, I was having a real Canadian moment. Up in Algonquin Park, sitting around a campfire, listening to the World Cup on the radio – it could have been 1962 or it could have been today. I felt, for the first time in months, settled, because the storm that has engulfed the Toronto Raptors for the past few years seemed to have subsided. And then, the serenity of Ontario’s nature was broken by a blood-curdling scream that came pouring out from me, as I received a notification on my phone telling me that the Kawhi Leonard deal was being put on hold.
Like many of you, the news from Shams Charania that Kawhi Leonard would be traded to from the LA Clippers was one I celebrated widely, then had my feelings of elation turn to confusion, and then annoyance, as it seemed like in everything but name, Leonard was stepping back into his shoes as a Raptor. Gradey Dick’s goodbye post and Leonard’s appearance at Kyle Lowry’s retirement ceremony seemed to all but confirm the reports that Kawhi would be coming to Toronto posthaste.
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That seems no longer to be the case.
The Ugly
Last month, I called ties to the Aspiration Scandal “a low risk, but potentially damning situation to get involved in” and it seems that I was right, on at least one of the counts. Josh Lewenberg, ever collected, is calling for Raptors fans not to sound the alarms quite yet, noting that the organization doesn’t appear panicked, nor does he feel that it is likely to have Kawhi Leonard’s contract, which we would trade for, be voided.
It seems, however, that a relatively serious punishment could indeed be meted out.
Regarding our planned trade with the LA Clippers for Kawhi Leonard,” said the Raptors, “the NBA league office informed us that as a result of the ongoing investigation involving the Clippers, we would assume the risk of any potential outcome of the investigation impacting Kawhi.
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“In light of this, we will wait until the league’s investigation is complete.”
That timeline is still unclear, but Adam Silver has noted that October is looking like the time before which the investigation should be over, which means that the summer might very well continue to go on without Leonard firmly placed on the roster. Now, this is something that is far from ideal in terms of team bonding and developing chemistry, but nevertheless, in the best case scenario, the investigation wraps up neatly and Kawhi is playing on opening night of the Raptors’ season.
The Bad
The Raptors are being vague about what “risk” they might be taking on by bringing Kawhi on. The obvious is that they’d take on a player with plans to extend him, and then get the contract knocked off of their books, having given away an All-Star and a bevy of picks, and more, receiving nothing in return. To a lesser degree, a long-term suspension could theoretically kill any shot at serious contention next year. This puts the franchise in both a risky and disadvantaged position.
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Assumedly, the Raptors as a team would not face any type of sanction for possible wrongdoing by the Clippers – there would not be owner finings, forced sale, stripping of picks, or anything of the sort. But still, losing Kawhi does not sound like a good time. Unless…?
The Good
Here me out.
It has long irked me that teams that draft really good players often get disadvantaged when team building because their players are too good and lift them out of the lottery, thus starving the team, and the star, of good players and teammates.
It happened to LeBron James, his own play ironically condemning him to a shattered legacy after leaving Cleveland because of a lack of help the first time. And this could be true for the Raptors now, whose rebuild was sometimes criticized as being rushed, and over too early. But, many players and dynasties actually benefitted highly from a terrible season *after* getting good pieces. Case in point, the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs crap out in 96-97 after David Robinson goes down with an injury. Year before that, they win 59 games. In the ‘97 season, they just scratch 20. But what does winning 20 games give you? The player who many consider to be the best power forward ever.
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So, if one-time MVP D-Rob never gets injured and gets back to form, the Spurs never get Tim Duncan, and maybe never win a ring. On a smaller scale, the same goes for Cooper Flagg and the Mavericks. Kyrie Irving gets hurt and Anthony Davis hardly plays due to his own health issues, so Flagg becomes the tank commander, and the Mavs get rewarded with the 9th pick. Then, they’ll probably get back Kyrie Irving at basically full health, and have a much better roster than they would if he’d never been temporarily injured.
Now, what does all of that have to do with the Raptors?
Trading for Leonard just to get his contract voided has the potential to be the riskiest, but most valuable move possible here. The Raptors are, in my view, one piece away at this point from being true champion contenders, even with Kawhi Leonard. But, what if they just got that piece hand delivered to them in the draft? The Raptors would be playing without Brandon Ingram, a loss of scoring that would almost certainly make them a play-in team, if that at all. Another losing season would suck, but you know what wouldn’t? One last lottery pick before getting Kawhi Leonard to join the team. And of course, in free agency, it’s anybody’s game. But, Kawhi has made it abundantly clear through both his words and his recent actions that he wants to be a Raptors, and doesn’t want to be long-term anywhere else.
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So, all that considered, if we’re willing to gamble, what’s the harm in just signing the guy now?
In the textbook contract voiding story, with Joe Smith and the Timberwolves, he just went back to Minnesota the next year. Signing Kawhi, hell or high water, shows our commitment to the man, and could inspire a level of loyalty, the type that only comes from offering a hand to a man who’s at his lowest, and giving him a way out. So, either way, suspension or contract voided, I think we get our man one way or another. So, what’s the harm in speeding up the process, taking a big swing, and setting up the future better than we ever could through more conventional means.
The Raptors are too proud to tank, so this might be the last stop on the station to seriously refuel on talent before it’s full steam ahead to contention land. I think we need to make our time here count.
