Kawhi Leaves Toronto
 

Today has been a shitty day. I woke up to see that I got a few LOL emails from my American friends because Kawhi left for the Clippers. On top of that, my grandma died. I don't think Kawhi's departure had anything to do with it though. Let's explore this in more detail:

One way of looking at it

Kawhi didn't want to be here in the first place. However, he still put on that Raptors jersey and reported for duty. Also, he could have half-assed it all season long, but he didn't. He gave it 100 percent and helped us win our first championship. The city of Toronto should be grateful to him for everything he did and respect his decision for wanting to go home.

The other way of looking at it

Logically speaking, what Kawhi did makes no sense. How could he just walk away from a championship team? How many stars can you think of that did something like this? Did Kobe leave the Lakers after winning? Did Curry leave after winning with the Warriors? Did LeBron leave after winning in Cleveland? It's not as if Kawhi joined a better team. Do they have a chance of winning now that they have him (and Paul George?) I still don't think so. Furthermore, since Kawhi was looking for a max contract, he could have earned a lot more playing in Toronto. And finally, he was a king up here. In California, he is no king - just another great player.

Anyways, now it's up to the basketball Gods to decide what's going to happen. If he doesn't win with the Clippers, and I don't think he will, then all those "what if" questions are going to start: what if he had stayed in Toronto? How many more rings do you think he would have won? And if he won a few more, then do you think he would have ended up in the same category as the other all-time greats, like Kobe, Magic, Bird? Let's all wait and see what happens!

It's been a hell of an offseason so far. Never seen anything like it. Dramatic shifts in the power structure of the league. I think the Clippers may be better than you think now, superstars of course tend to make those role players look a lot better.

Sorry about your Grandma.

Kawhi wanted to play in California, and he's in a way better situation with the clips than staying with Toronto. He pretty much won them the championship by himself, and all the key guys will be free agents next year or getting old. There will be no what ifs whatsoever.

We are just in the era of "be fan of the team on the front of the uni , not the back"

Its hard for me as a fan of the 70s and 80s where even crappy teams stayed together but now its like the wild west with all the movement so if I were a Toronto fan I would just get over it, wish Kawhi well and enjoy your championship. Sucks that he was the reason they won, and now he's gone. But nothing will change the fact that Toronto won.

Like college with the 1 and dones...

I do hope this slows down the tanking.....proven it doesn't attract FAs....



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What a dumb comment. Did you even watch any Raptors games? First of all, we had an amazing backcourt; Lowry and VanVleet were making 3-pointers nonstop. I was also surprised how well these guys played defense. VanVleet gave Curry lots of trouble during the Finals and Lowry was just diving all over the place. Siakam stunned everybody with how well he played this year. He was scoring from all over the court. And finally, we have two amazing centers: Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka. How many centers in the NBA can make 3-pointers? It's funny, because so many guys underestimated Gasol. He would be standing behind the arc with the ball, and nobody was guarding him because they all thought he couldn't score from back there, and he would do it! Ibaka was just dominating the paint game after game.

And I also want to say this: last summer Paul George signed a four year deal with OKC for $137 million. After playing just one season, he requested a trade. So when guys in the NBA do this, then Kawhi signing for four years with the Clippers doesn't mean anything, right? It's not as if he's going to play four years there. Who knows what's going to happen over there.

Did Kawhi win the championship for Toronto?

Or

Did Achilles lose the championship for Golden State?

it's obvious you only see things thru your team's lense, and can't be objective. that's the problem with alot of these sports threads on here. people can't see past the scope of their homerism. van vleet was horrible the first couple rounds, siakam was up and down (he's young can't blame him), lowry has always been inconsistent, gasol can be tentative, ibaka had the one great 7th game against philly. they all had their games but mostly it was kawhi day in and day out carrying the team and was the calming influence. he absolutely bailed them out in the earlier rounds when late in the games everyone else was shitting their pants in tight games. with gs it was already a foregone conclusion, but if curry had made that 3 who knows what would've happened in game 7.

in the season it was basically the toronto offense, and kawhi iso's. there was no flow. he's absolutely in a better situation now with a better supporting cast and being close to home. just be grateful he got you a chip and be happy for him that he's coming home.

Are you in California? Clippers fan?

So Durant’s injury had nothing to do with Toronto’s win. Is that the prevailing opinion?

Frank, I believe that if Durant and Thompson had been healthy, then Golden State would have probably beaten us. However, there are many people here who would disagree with me. Raptors did play Golden State a few times during the regular season and won them all.

It's a no brainer if Durant played....heck if Klay was healthy gs mayve won also.

And yes I'm from socal and I root for any local teams, and I've probably watched more of kawhi/nba than you.

The Raptors caught lightning in a bottle - as most teams do when they win a title. They got the luckiest bounce in the history of basketball to get past the Sixers in game 7. They beat a very good Bucks team in 6 including a double ot win. Then the Ws took them to 6 games with 2 of their best players suffering catastrophic injuries. They had the best player in the playoffs and had a lot of luck along the way. Just be thankful - you could be a Knicks fan (like me) with nothing to look forward to until the team is sold - if that day comes.

That's what I figured.

Not surprising. You come from a state that has four NBA teams. There is only one team in my whole entire country.

I disagree with your reasoning for calling the Raptors a "one man team." You stated above that the other guys are inconsistent, while Kawhi played at a high level game after game. This is true, but ninety-nine percent of players in the NBA are inconsistent. Klay Thompson is inconsistent. This guy can score 12 points one night and then get 30 the other. Does that make the Warriors a one man team? Of course not. All the fans watching always hope that Klay is going to get hot and rip the opposition to pieces. It's no different with Kyle Lowry, for example. Once this guy heats up, that's it.

It hurt a lot losing Kawhi, but the pain would have been worse if he had joined the Lakers. The last thing anyone wants to see is another superteam led by LeBron James.

No but Shaq did.

Yes.

LeBron won the championship in 2016. The following two seasons the Cavs lost in the finals and then he decided to leave, and that's what I'm trying to say here. He didn't leave his team right after winning the championship. The same goes for Shaq. He did not help the Lakers win a championship and then immediately want out, right? They lost a few seasons and then he left.

Kawhi did something I have never seen before. He won and then said "I'm outta' here - bye!"

Enjoy the title! I would accept that the next 5 years would suck for my favorite team if it could just win one. I used to think the opposite and always worried about building for a future that might never happen. If you can pull a big move, even if it is short term (like the Raptors did), that helps you land a title you do it. Congrats and ENJOY it!!!

Very sorry about your grandma.

Thanks everyone. Grandma fell about a month before she died. Without the injury, she would have lived longer for sure. She was a great woman and we all miss her very much.

Anyways, now back to Kawhi lol

So he signed a 3 year deal with the Clippers today, but he could opt out after the second year.

Clippers gave up guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, forward Danilo Gallinari and five first-round draft picks for Paul George. Oh my goodness! That is A LOT for a guy who recently broke his leg (very badly).

Clippers gave up A LOT more for Kawhi than what Toronto did.

They have two years to win the championship. If things don't go well, then watch Kawhi join the Lakers in 2021. With him gone and no first round picks, this organization is going to suffer for a long time.

Good luck to the Clippers and their fans. I hope you guys win a championship.