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More Notes, Updates On Kawhi Leonard Blockbuster

July 18th, 2018 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors and Spurs officially announced their blockbuster trade involving Kawhi Leonard and DeMar DeRozan today, issuing a pair of press releases to confirm the deal. However, the Raptors have yet to conduct a physical on Leonard, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst noted during an appearance on Outside the Lines.

Windhorst suggests there’s a chance that the Raptors could waive Leonard’s physical, since they just want the two-time Defensive Player of the Year on their roster and may be willing to take a gamble on his health. Still, it’s a situation worth keeping an eye on. Last year, the Cavaliers and Celtics seemingly finalized their Kyrie Irving blockbuster before Isaiah Thomas‘ physical held up the deal for an extra week. I don’t expect that to happen here, and it’s even less likely that this trade falls through, but it’s not necessarily officially official until the Raptors make a call on that physical.

Here are many more reactions, notes, and updates on today’s mega-deal:

Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri has a reputation for making bold decisions, but the team’s acquisition of Leonard is his boldest move to date, writes Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. As Lewenberg observes, Ujiri has long wanted to land a bona-fide superstar, and finally gets a chance to do so with his deal for Leonard.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich informed Leonard’s camp of today’s trade early on Wednesday in what was called a “cordial” conversation, a source tells David Aldridge of TNT. According to Aldridge, Leonard isn’t thrilled about being sent to the Raptors for a few reasons, including the higher taxation rate in Canada — Texas, of course, has no state income tax.
The Spurs‘ top priority in Leonard trade talks was landing an established scorer capable of averaging 20+ PPG, per NBA columnist Mitch Lawrence (Twitter link). The club achieved that goal by landing DeRozan.
According to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, there’s a “fine line between hope and desperation,” and Deveney believes the Raptors land on the wrong side of that line with this trade.
The trade is “tantalizing on paper” for the Raptors, but includes plenty of red flags and comes at a cost, given DeRozan’s loyalty to the franchise, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.
The Raptors are sending a loud message that they’re not happy with merely being good and want to be great, says Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post.
Longtime Spurs swingman Danny Green posted a goodbye message to the club and its fans today on Instagram, adding that he’s looking forward to his “next chapter” in Toronto.
We passed along more notes on the Spurs/Raptors trade earlier today.

Raptors, Spurs Finalize Leonard, DeRozan Trade

July 18th, 2018 at 11:06am CST by Austin Kent

11:06am: The trade is now official, according to a press release issued by the Spurs.

8:07am: The deal will send Leonard and Green to Toronto in exchange for DeRozan, Poeltl, and a protected 2019 first-round pick, league sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News first reported Green’s inclusion in the trade (Twitter link).

Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter) that the 2019 first-round pick is protected from 1-20. If it doesn’t change hands after one year, it would turn into a pair of second-round picks instead.

The extra assets beyond Leonard and DeRozan look good for the Raptors, who will get to hang on their top two prospects in Anunoby and Siakam, and will only surrender a late first-rounder, at worst. Toronto will also add Green, a three-and-D wing who is a career 39.5% three-point shooter and is on a $10MM expiring contract.

Toronto will also create a modest trade exception equivalent to Poeltl’s $2.95MM salary in the deal.

7:15am: The Raptors and Spurs have reached an agreement in principle on a deal that will send Leonard to Toronto and DeRozan to San Antonio, reports Wojnarowski (via Twitter). According to Woj, there are more pieces involved on both sides, and players are still being informed about the deal. A trade call with the NBA is expected to happen later today.

4:53am: The Raptors are finalizing a trade to acquire Kawhi Leonard from the Spurs, Chris Haynes and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN report. San Antonio would receive a package headlined by DeMar DeRozan in the swap.

The Raptors and Spurs have been exploring such a trade for at least two weeks now, though Haynes adds that DeRozan was allegedly told during the Las Vegas summer league that he wouldn’t be dealt.

“Be told one thing & the outcome another,” DeRozan wrote in a story on his Instagram account early Wednesday morning. “Can’t trust em. Ain’t no loyalty in this game. Sell you out quick for a little bit of nothing.”

Neither Leonard nor DeRozan appears to be particularly pleased with the potential deal, with Haynes noting in a subsequent tweet that sources have told him that Leonard has no desire to play in Toronto. As ESPN’s Zach Lowe tweets, Leonard would risk fines and possible forfeiture of his 2018/19 salary if he’s traded to the Raptors and doesn’t report to the team, unless he can provide a legitimate medical reason.

The two clubs are said to have discussed several packages and a deal could be agreed to in principle as early as today.

With Leonard eligible to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, Raptors president Masai Ujiri is taking a substantial risk trading a committed All-Star for an outside player with eyes for Los Angeles. That said, the Thunder took a similar chance trading for Paul George last summer and it paid off when he re-signed long-term earlier this month.

Leonard, who has a 15% trade kicker, is set to earn approximately $23.1MM in 2018/19 (counting that trade bonus) before becoming eligible for free agency a year from now, so even if the Kawhi experiment doesn’t work, the Raptors could clear some long-term salary from their books in a deal. DeRozan will make $27.74MM annually for the next two years, with a player option worth the same amount in 2020/21.

Given the difference in salaries between the two stars, and the fact that the Spurs will likely receive another player or two in any deal, the Raptors may also take on another veteran to even out the ’18/19 money involved. Patty Mills ($11.57MM), Danny Green ($10MM), and perhaps even Pau Gasol ($16.8MM) would be candidates.

As we wrote yesterday, the supposed asking price for Leonard could be as high as an All-Star caliber player, high-potential young players, and draft picks. If DeRozan represents the first item on that list, it will be interesting to see what other pieces round out the offer. Toronto’s roster features a handful of intriguing young players, including OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and Jakob Poeltl. The Raptors also control all their future draft picks.

At full health, a content, committed Leonard could easily justify such a substantial haul, but concerns about his quadriceps injury and his willingness to re-sign with a non-L.A. team trading for him may have diminished his value.

Although the Raptors have been prominently linked to Leonard of late, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports notes in his own story on the potential deal that the Lakers, Clippers, Sixers and Celtics were said to be suitors as well. On Tuesday, we learned that the Nuggets, Suns, Trail Blazers, and Wizards also talked to San Antonio about a possible trade.

Given that he was limited to just nine games last season, and didn’t look like his All-NBA self, it’s hard to gauge exactly what the Raptors might expect to see from Leonard on the court. Still, he’s just one year removed from back-to-back finishes as a top-three MVP candidate and a member of the All-NBA First Team.

Those All-NBA nods allowed Leonard to qualify for a Designated Veteran Extension worth 35% of the cap with the Spurs. By the time he officially became eligible to sign such an extension this week though, the star forward’s desire to leave San Antonio was well known, making a new deal with the Spurs an extreme long shot — even if the club was willing to offer it.

Leonard will lose his eligibility for that five-year super-max deal – worth an estimated $221MM – if he’s traded. If he’s sent to Toronto and becomes a free agent next summer, Kawhi would be eligible for up to five years and nearly $190MM with the Raptors or four years and $140.6MM with another team, based on current cap projections for 2019/20.

In nine seasons with the Raptors, DeRozan has averaged 19.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. The 28-year-old has been named an All-Star in four of the past five seasons and played an instrumental role in Toronto’s rise up the Eastern Conference ranks the past half decade.

Per Wojnarowski (via Twitter), a Spurs/Raptors swap has been close for a few days, but has nearly fallen apart multiple times. Ujiri wanted to let DeRozan know about the impending deal himself late last night, according to Woj, who adds that DeRozan and good friend Kyle Lowry talked a few hours ago.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Early Reactions, Notes On Leonard/DeRozan Trade

July 18th, 2018 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

The highest-profile trade candidate of the 2018 NBA offseason finally appears to be on the move, as the Raptors and Spurs have reached an agreement in principle to swap Kawhi Leonard and DeMar DeRozan. The Spurs will also acquire Jakob Poeltl and a protected 2019 first-round pick, sending out Danny Green in the deal.

It’s a fascinating trade for a number of reasons, not least of which is the apparent distaste that each star has for it. DeRozan, who was reportedly recently informed by the Raptors that he wouldn’t be traded, published an early-morning Instagram story saying that there “ain’t no loyalty in this game,” and TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link) hears from a source that the longtime Raptor remains “extremely upset.” DeRozan isn’t backing off the claim that the team lied to him about a potential trade, Aldridge adds.

As for Leonard, his long-reported desire has been to return home to Los Angeles, so a move to Toronto represents just about the furthest thing possible from what he wanted. While it would be a surprise if he refuses to report to his new team, a long-term stay with the Raptors beyond the 2018/19 season will be a “very tough sell,” a source tells Aldridge (Twitter link),

Here’s more on the NBA’s latest blockbuster trade:

The Spurs are entering uncharted territory and facing an uncertain future, according to Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com, who relays a few interesting tidbits on the franchise and Leonard in his latest article.
Sources tell Wright that Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich “begged’ Leonard to let him announce to the media last season that the star forward wouldn’t be returning from his quadriceps injury, but Kawhi declined each time, believing he could still return. Leonard already “felt betrayed” by the club’s handling of his quad issue, and the uncertainty surrounding his absence and possible return didn’t help either side.
In a separate piece for ESPN.com, Wright breaks down the timeline of the Leonard saga, which started during the forward’s rehab process in the summer of 2017.
Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe passes along several initial thoughts on the deal, including the ripple effect the Raptors‘ acquisition of Leonard will have on other Eastern Conference contenders like the Celtics.
This isn’t the first time that the Raptors have looked into the possibility of moving DeRozan. According to Marc Stein of The New York Times, Toronto held exploratory discussions with the Timberwolves during the 2017 offseason about a deal that would have sent DeRozan to Minnesota and Andrew Wiggins to the Raptors. Those talks likely took place before Wiggins signed his five-year, maximum-salary extension.

Checking In On 2018’s Unsigned Draft Picks

July 17th, 2018 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2018 NBA draft took place less than a month ago, but over three quarters over the players selected on the night of June 22 have already signed their first NBA contracts. That includes each of the 30 players picked in the first round, all of whom are now under contract.

The following players have not yet signed contracts with their new NBA teams:

Detroit Pistons: Khyri Thomas, SG (Creighton)
Orlando Magic: Justin Jackson, F (Maryland)
Washington Wizards: Issuf Sanon, G (Olimpija Ljubljana)
Oklahoma City Thunder: Hamidou Diallo, SG (Kentucky)
Houston Rockets: De’Anthony Melton, G (USC)
San Antonio Spurs: Chimezie Metu, F/C (USC)
New Orleans Pelicans: Tony Carr, PG (Penn State)
Oklahoma City Thunder: Devon Hall, SG (Virginia)
Philadelphia 76ers: Shake Milton, G (SMU)
Charlotte Hornets: Arnoldas Kulboka, SF (Capo D’Orlando)
Dallas Mavericks: Ray Spalding, PF (Louisville)
Oklahoma City Thunder: Kevin Hervey, SF (Texas-Arlington)
Denver Nuggets: Thomas Welsh, C (UCLA)

Sanon, Carr, and Kulboka will reportedly spend the 2018/19 season overseas, so we can safely remove their names from this list — they won’t be signing NBA contracts this offseason. Welsh, meanwhile, has reportedly agreed to terms on a two-way contract with Denver, though it’s not yet official.

That leaves just nine players from 2018’s draft class who we should still expect to sign at some point. Of those nine players, the higher picks such as Thomas (Pistons), Jackson (Magic), Diallo (Thunder), and Melton (Rockets) are good bets to sign multiyear NBA contracts. Even though some of those teams have luxury-tax concerns, they’ll have to fill out their rosters somehow, and a rookie contract at or near the minimum is the best way to avoid significantly increasing their potential tax penalties.

The players selected in the 50s may be candidates for two-way deals. A year ago, no player selected between Nos. 49-60 received a standard NBA contract, with all of those players signing two-way contracts, agreeing to straight G League contracts, or heading overseas to join an international team.

As such, players like Hall (Thunder), Milton (Sixers), Spalding (Mavericks), and Hervey (Thunder) should be considered two-way options. For now though, Dallas doesn’t have a two-way slot open, and Oklahoma City only has one, so it remains to be seen what the future holds for these late second-rounders. We should find out in the coming weeks.

Latest On Kawhi Leonard

July 17th, 2018 at 12:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs‘ asking price for Kawhi Leonard remains high, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne. In an article packed with Leonard-related tidbits, the ESPN duo suggests that – based on conversations with opposing teams – San Antonio appears to be seeking an All-Star caliber player, high-potential young players, and draft picks in exchange for Kawhi.

It’s not clear if the Spurs will be able to land that sort of return, according to Wojnarowski and Shelburne, who note that a three-way bidding war involving the Lakers, Celtics, and Sixers never really materialized. The Lakers are being patience and conveying confidence that Leonard will sign with them in 2019. As for the Celtics and Sixers, they’ve held their top players out of trade discussions and have offered pick-heavy packages, which haven’t enticed the Spurs.

Given the Spurs’ reported demands, a Raptors offer built around one of their All-Star guards (likely DeMar DeRozan), one or two of their young players, and draft picks could be the most logical package for San Antonio.

In an appearance on Zach Lowe’s ESPN podcast, Brian Windhorst said he thinks the Raptors are in the “driver’s seat” in the Leonard sweepstakes, since the Lakers and Sixers haven’t been aggressive in their pursuit of the star forward. Lowe didn’t go so far as to call the Raptors the favorites, but he cautioned not to underestimate the club or to view the rumors linking Leonard to Toronto as mere speculation.

Here are a few more notes and rumors on the NBA’s most noteworthy trade candidate:

In addition to the four teams noted above, the Clippers, Nuggets, Suns, Trail Blazers, and Wizards have talked to the Spurs about Leonard, league sources tell Wojnarowski and Shelburne. However, it’s unlikely that any of those teams has made a monster offer, given concerns that Kawhi would be a one-year rental. Portland hasn’t discussed Damian Lillard or C.J. McCollum, for instance, per ESPN.
Leonard is “seriously considering” participating in Team USA’s mini-camp next week, league sources tell Wojnarowski and Shelburne. There’s a sense that the All-Star wants to show the Spurs‘ prospective trade partners that he’s healthy, but there may be a concern within Leonard’s camp that participating in the mini-camp would give San Antonio more leverage to push him to report to camp in the fall.
While there have been whispers that Leonard has no intention of showing up at the Spurs‘ facility if he’s not traded, rival teams generally view that as an “empty threat,” since they’re skeptical he’s willing to risk forfeiting his $20MM salary for 2018/19, according to Wojnarowski and Shelburne,
The Spurs haven’t allowed potential trade partners to talk directly with Leonard or his camp, or to see his medical information, per ESPN’s report. It’s unlikely that stance would change unless the Spurs agree to a trade in principle with a team, Woj and Shelburne add.
Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders addressed the Leonard situation in his latest article, suggesting that the start of training camp could be a key deadline to keep an eye on. One source close to Leonard also tells Kyler that the forward would ideally like to be the “focal point” of a team going forward. It’s not clear how that alleged desire to be a team’s focal point will impact Leonard’s preference to join the Lakers now that LeBron James is in L.A., Kyler writes.

Contract Details For Davis Bertans

July 16th, 2018 at 1:35pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs‘ new two-year agreement with Davis Bertans has a base value of $7MM annually, but Bertans can also earn $250K in unlikely incentives per year (Twitter link). The deal can be worth up to $14.5MM in total.

Kawhi Leonard Now Officially Extension-Eligible

July 16th, 2018 at 11:56am CST by Luke Adams

The possibility of a Kawhi Leonard contract extension with the Spurs has been a subject of discussion for much of the year, but Leonard wasn’t officially eligible to sign a new deal until today.

A veteran NBA player who signs a five-year contract becomes eligible to have that contract extended three years after it was signed. Leonard inked his current five-year deal with the Spurs on July 16, 2015, meaning today is the three-year anniversary of that signing.

Because he was named to one of the league’s All-NBA teams in both 2016 and 2017, Leonard is eligible for a Designated Veteran Extension, which means he could earn a starting salary worth up to 35% of the cap – rather than just 30% – on a new deal with the Spurs.

We won’t know exactly what such an extension would be worth until the 2019/20 salary cap is finalized. However, a five-year 35% max contract starting in ’19/20 based on the NBA’s current $109MM cap projection would have a starting salary of $38.15MM and an overall value of $221.27MM, including a fifth-year salary of $50.358MM.

The terms of a potential Leonard extension may ultimately be irrelevant though, since the star forward has shown no interest in staying in San Antonio long term. The Spurs likely won’t be willing to put that $221MM+ offer on the table anyway, since Leonard is coming off an injury-plagued 2017/18 campaign in which he appeared in just nine games. He wouldn’t be able to get the same deal with any other team.

Since the NBA introduced the Designated Veteran Extension in its most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement, the only players to sign such a deal are Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and John Wall.

Hilliard Remains RFA; Chimezie Metu Injury Will Not Require Surgery

July 15th, 2018 at 9:03pm CST by Austin Kent

The Spurs chose not to withdraw their qualifying offer from Darrun Hilliard before Friday, meaning they won’t be able to do so without Hilliard’s blessing, Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News writes. Hilliard remains a restricted two-way free agent.
The Spurs have downgraded rookie Chimezie Metu‘s wrist injury from a sprain to a fracture, Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News writes, noting that Metu will wear a cast but will not require surgery.

Noise From The North: The Latest On Kawhi Leonard

July 14th, 2018 at 2:19pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kawhi Leonard has dominated headlines all summer and he’ll likely be featured in the rumor mill until either the Spurs trade him or he commits to playing in San Antonio long-term. Rumors of the Raptors making a play for the disgruntled star made rounds during Summer League, and other teams such as the Sixers and Celtics come up in speculation about where Leonard is going to play next season.

Most of the news may simply be noise, as Leonard has long been linked to Los Angeles, the only city he reportedly wants to play for. Cris Carter of Fox Sports hears that Leonard hasn’t changed his stance.

“Nothing’s changed from Kawhi’s side from these standpoints: He still wants to go to Los Angeles, and he’s still not interested in being rented out for one season, so that being Philadelphia, Boston, Toronto or any other team,” Carter said on First Things First on Friday (Twitter link).

Carter, a Hall-of-Fame NFL wide receiver, is an unlikely source for NBA news, though he appears to be dialed into the situation. Longtime sports agent Mitch Frankel, who represents Leonard, was Carter’s agent during his NFL playing days.

Carter relayed that Leonard’s camp has remained in contact with the Spurs and they were told by the organization that they’d be notified if the club was closing in on a deal. That hasn’t happened and no rival team has been in contact with Leonard, something that would typically happen if another team was in conversations to acquire a player in a trade.

Leonard’s camp considered issuing a press release about the rumors of Toronto making a play for him, Carter added. No such thing has since been released and the silence from Leonard’s people is partially to blame for the rampant speculation about the Raptors swooping in and acquiring the former MVP candidate, Sean Deveney of Sporting News writes.

Deveney believes that a Leonard trade remains distant and adds that it’s easy to see why NBA executives are connecting the dots between Toronto and San Antonio. GM Masai Ujiri has the ammunition to pull off a trade that provides value to San Antonio while maintaining Toronto’s status as a serious Eastern Conference contender.

Such a deal could be centered around a package of DeMar DeRozan and young prospects or picks and the Raptors have a deep enough team to give up two or three contributors and still surround Leonard with a top-ranked cast.

However, Deveney believes it would be foolish to make the trade for Leonard without assurance that he’ll stick around past the 2018/19 campaign. For the Raptors or any team outside of Los Angeles, getting that long-term commitment doesn’t appear to be in the cards. Leonard is a generational talent, but for those non-Southern California teams, the risk may be even greater than the reward and a trade seems unlikely until that ratio tilts in one of the other 27 organizations’ favor.

Spurs, Lakers, Others Eyeing David Nwaba

July 13th, 2018 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

David Nwaba is no longer a restricted free agent, meaning he can sign outright with any NBA team, and interested clubs are checking in on the young shooting guard. According to TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link), several teams have reached out to Nwaba, including the Spurs and Lakers. There’s no clear frontrunner at this point, Aldridge adds.

Nwaba, who was eligible for restricted free agency this summer, received a qualifying offer from the Bulls last month, giving the team the right of first refusal on any offer sheet he signed. However, Chicago withdrew that QO on Thursday, despite its modest price ($1.7MM), leading to speculation that the club is maximizing its cap room for a bigger move.

Despite making Nwaba an unrestricted free agent, the Bulls haven’t given up hope of re-signing him. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer tweets that the Bulls have interest in using the room exception to bring back Nwaba after they use up their cap space. A source confirmed to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune that the team hasn’t ruled out re-signing Nwaba once it completes other business.

In order to retain Nwaba though, the Bulls would have to count on the 25-year-old waiting out the team’s other move(s) and being willing to accept the $4.45MM room exception. Those aren’t unreasonable requests, but if Nwaba gets a comparable offer from another suitor, he may not want to wait on Chicago.

A former undrafted free agent, Nwaba had a solid season for the Bulls in 2017/18, averaging 7.9 PPG and 4.7 RPG while playing strong perimeter defense in 70 games (21 starts).