Toronto Raptors

If he leaves Toronto I hope it is to the Clippers, would much rather see him defend against LBJ and AD.

AD is often injured, and LBJ is getting older, I am not convinced that this power duo (or trio if Kawhi joins) will actually yield the expectations the Lakers organization have.

Kawhi can sign a one year deal with Toronto and still be the most sought after free agent this time next year.

Happened to be up late and watched when the Toronto Sports Network broke the story; you would've thought the world was ending listening to them drone on and on_and on. Good on Leonard: he took less $ to go home. Perfectly understandable but the way some of those TO dorks were wailing on ad nauseum was stomach-turning.

We out here in the boondocks know too well the arrogant attitude of many denizens from the self-proclaimed Centre of the Known Universe so it was amusing as hell listening to some of them trying and failing to rationalize why *anyone* wouldn't want to live and play there!? Phhhht....

If nothing else if this move means I am no longer subjected to watching the insufferable antics of a certain rap - so-called "artist" - who thinks the Show is all about him, then I'm all for it. SoCal on its worst day is far more interesting than Toronto in every way and has infinitely better weather and beaches - no contest. Have fun and enjoy Kawhi.

Happened to be up late and watched when the Toronto Sports Network broke the story; you would've thought the world was ending listening to them drone on and on_and on. Good on Leonard: he took less $ to go home. Perfectly understandable but the way some of those TO dorks were wailing on ad nauseum was stomach-turning.

We out here in the boondocks know too well the arrogant attitude of many denizens from the self-proclaimed Centre of the Known Universe so it was amusing as hell listening to some of them trying and failing to rationalize why *anyone* wouldn't want to live and play there!? Phhhht....

If nothing else if this move means I am no longer subjected to watching the insufferable antics of a certain rap - so-called "artist" - who thinks the Show is all about him, then I'm all for it. SoCal on its worst day is far more interesting than Toronto in every way and has infinitely better weather and beaches - no contest. Have fun and enjoy Kawhi.

/\ ...........Absolutely it did, no question; that said it was reported a year ago when it was obvious things weren't going well in S-A that he was reportedly looking to get home to Cali even then. He didn't ask to be traded to TO. But he kept his mouth shut, played his butt off and delivered them a championship. What else do TO/Raptor fans expect?

why did he come to toronto for this year then?

/\ ...........Absolutely it did, no question; that said it was reported a year ago when it was obvious things weren't going well in S-A that he was reportedly looking to get home to Cali even then. He didn't ask to be traded to TO. But he kept his mouth shut, played his butt off and delivered them a championship. What else do TO/Raptor fans expect?

He was traded to Toronto, he didn't have a choice.

that's slightly rich though with what just transpired for him to get paul george traded to the clippers. 

https://www.sportsne...itching-durant/

At the same time he was meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors this week, Leonard was meeting, calling and texting with George, trying to convince him to find a way out of Oklahoma City.

 

Considering he was just one season into the four-year contract he’d negotiated with the Thunder last summer, it wasn’t as easy as George simply accepting a new deal. The 29-year-old requested a trade mid-week and, a few days later, was dealt to the Clippers.

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 July 2019 - 06:35 PM.

that's slightly rich though with what just transpired for him to get paul george traded.

I wish more of these well paid athletes handled their affairs like Kawhi.
He leads by example and refrains from the Twitterverse.
Nothing but good wishes from myself for his career in LA.

Yeah...God knows Drake certainly could've learned something from the guy........

i guess what i mean is one poster says he had no choice to go in a trade.  that's not true (top) players decline trades all the time.  and players like george sign multi-year deals then bail on them and demand trades at the urging of others.

"Leonard's ambition in trying to recruit Durant to the Clippers suggested he was serious about joining LA in free agency. But it also suggested that they needed to get him another star.

 

"After the Clippers met with Leonard for approximately three hours at head coach Doc Rivers' house in Malibu on Monday night, both sides went to work to make that happen. At the same time he was meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors this week, Leonard was meeting, calling and texting with George, trying to convince him to find a way out of Oklahoma City."

 

https://www.sporting...7y1wwzqz1cgyxky

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 July 2019 - 06:44 PM.

I wish more of these well paid athletes handled their affairs like Kawhi.
 

if a team did what he did they'd be guilty of tampering.   you might even suggest that kawhi did the tampering for the clippers so they would not get caught.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 July 2019 - 06:46 PM.

It’s clear that these players and the teams they have agreed with are violating the tampering rules of the NBA collective bargaining agreement. Players want to have full control of who they play with and where they play. While this can be a detriment to some smaller market teams, it is generally a good thing for the NBA in generating publicity and promoting their stars.

 

The league needs to take a hard stance on the matter, one way or the other. If tampering is to be illegal, players who conspire to play with each other while under contract should be fined or suspended games to prevent future occurrences. If the league wants to allow teams and players to continue to have agreements in place prior to the opening of free agency, then penalties for tampering should be eliminated entirely. It is foolish under the current landscape to punish executives for discussing players under contract with other clubs while those same players are plotting to join forces months later in the offseason.

 

http://bostonsportse...d-nba-tampering

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 July 2019 - 06:49 PM.

if a team did what he did they'd be guilty of tampering.   you might even suggest that kawhi did the tampering for the clippers so they would not get caught.

Leonard missed most of 2017 due to injuries and this year's outcome may have been quite a bit different if he didn't have the Toronto bench to back him up when he was feeling off.

I think that Leonard wanted to make sure that when he went with the Clippers they had the same strength to back him up.

Edited by spanky123, 06 July 2019 - 06:51 PM.

But the NBA could still improve the system, especially the tampering problem

One recurring challenge for the NBA is the enforceability of its anti-tampering rule. The rule is expressed in two versions, one of which is found in Articles 35 of the league constitution and the other in Article 35A. The rule applies to coaches, general managers, governors and players—yes, players—but not agents, since they are licensed by the NBPA and are not employed by either the league or a team. The rule prohibits any attempt to entice, induce or persuade a person who is under contract with another team to join a team that would benefit from the tampering.

As I detailed earlier this week, a number of NBA franchises blatantly disregarded free agency timing rules prior to June 30. They did so by contacting and negotiating with players and their representatives before agreed-upon start times. The teams, in other words, tampered. It does not appear that any will be sanctioned by fines or forfeiture of draft picks, nor will their free-agent signings be voided.

Tampering also appears to have played a role in the Clippers’ successful recruitment of Leonard and George. In May, the NBA fined the Clippers $50,000 after Rivers joined Magic Johnson, Stephen A. Smith and Michael Wilbon in an ESPN panel discussion on the NBA finals. Rivers, who years ago was a commentator for Turner Sports and ABC Sports, spoke effusively about Leonard. Rivers went so far as to say, “Kawhi is the most like Jordan we've seen."

The NBA objected to Rivers, an executive on a team that hoped to sign Leonard away from the Raptors, flatteringly comparing Leonard to the greatest basketball player of all-time. It’s not clear if the remark played a factor in Leonard’s decision, but media reports indicate that Leonard was at least partly moved to sign with the Clippers due to a desire to play for Rivers. If that desire was enhanced by Rivers comparing Leonard to Jordan, Steve Ballmer—who is reportedly worth north of $50 billion—would surely regard the $50,000 fine as a wise investment.

It also appears that Leonard committed tampering in his quest to form a two-superstar team with George. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Leonard and George met in Los Angeles earlier this week. Leonard then made it clear to the Clippers that he would only sign if the Clippers acquired George from the Thunder.

Given this sequence of events, it’s implausible to believe that Leonard and George didn’t discuss the possibility of the two playing for the Clippers and how to make that happen. If Leonard induced George, who was under contract to the Thunder, to join him on the Clippers, Leonard would have tampered.

The same would be true if LeBron James had urged Anthony Davis to force the New Orleans Pelicans to trade him to the Lakers, but not if Rich Paul—who as an agent is licensed by the NBPA, not the NBA—urged Davis, one of his clients, to join James, another of Paul’s clients, in Los Angeles.

The NBA has never publicly punished a player for tampering and has seldom taken steps to enforce the anti-tampering rule. Players openly recruit one another during the All-Star game and post photos of each other in different uniforms on Instagram. In 1999, the league at least contemplated punishing a player for tampering. Then-NBA commissioner David Stern publicly reprimanded Chicago Bulls center Will Perdue for comments about the possibility of Tim Duncan leaving the Spurs for the Bulls.

https://www.si.com/n...tars-call-shots

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 July 2019 - 06:52 PM.

anyway what's new. experienced players also conspire with the league to deny new players high salaries even if their performance is strong.  effectively raising the drawbridge once they are experienced and ensuring the higher team profits flow to the experienced players not new ones (that might replace experienced players altogether).  the fix is in. and these top ufas are part of it.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 July 2019 - 06:57 PM.

The Toronto Raptors say a new line of team-branded hijabs is part of a broader effort to be more inclusive to fans of all cultures.

The team's parent company, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, unveiled the Nike Pro hijabs emblazoned with the team logo in a social media post on Friday.

In doing so, they say the Raptors became the first team in the National Basketball Association to offer an athletic hijab for Muslim women.

https://www.cp24.com...-fans-1.4592818

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 September 2019 - 03:02 PM.