A Break Down of the DeRozan & Kawhi Swap

A Break Down of the DeRozan & Kawhi Swap

July 31st, 2018

After looking at this trade on the surface we know that Toronto is making a big move and most likely this is the largest gamble for the franchise has ever made. The trade synopsis includes:

San Antonio Spurs receiving:

G Demar Derozan

C Jakob Potel

Toronto Raptors receiving:

F Kawhi Leonard

G Danny Green

To recap the motive of the trade we have to look back to the 2017 NBA Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors and the 2018 NBA season.. The genesis of this injury came about when the former Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard got banged up after a questionable closeout by Zaza Pachulia. He would not return for that series.

Later that summer, he disclosed his quad injury to the Spurs and missed opening night. During the course of the season, Leonard was limited to playing in just nine games due to a lingering quadricep injury. In those nine games Leonard was able to average 16.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.3 APG with two steals and one block per game in 23 MPG. We can also note that in his shortened season he was shooting below his career averages in percentages.

After grumblings and cryptic messages displayed publicly and privately about the legitimacy of Leonard’s injury, trade rumors swirled around the league. Kawhi informed the team he would like to be traded to Los Angeles due to his severed relationship with the organization. Nevertheless, the Spurs were headstrong on not trading their former 2x Defensive Player of the Year award winner and did not trade him at the before the deadline. After a predictable outcome of the NBA finals and another LeBron domination of Toronto in the second round of the playoffs, we can fast forward now to July of 2018 where this deal occurred.

With the move of surprisingly moving on from Coach of the Year Award winner Dwane Casey, we knew Toronto was looking to shake things up and this move does just that. Now we can grade the trade and see who wins this trade.

San Antonio Spurs: A-

Given that the Spurs were not going to get an equal exchange for another top five or ten NBA player, I give the Spurs an A minus on this deal for the simple fact that they got a top 25 player in DeRozan for ultimately giving up Kawhi for what seems to be a one year rental. Not only do they get a top tier player to put alongside LaMarcus Aldridge but they get to be relevant for the upcoming season and stay relevant for the next few years. Demar has three years on his contract at $27.7 Million per year. When you put the long term aspect in the mix, it was a great deal for San Antonio for the circumstance they were in.  

Also, this move is good from a moral standpoint. If they would have kept Leonard, the Spurs would have run the risk of Kawhi holding out or just causing more strife in the locker room. With the trade the Spurs get a fresh start and coach Gregg Popovich gets peace of mind.

San Antonio has a solid rotation moving forward when you put DeRozan alongside a young and long point guard in Dejounte Murray, all star caliber F LaMarcus Aldridge, veteran forward Rudy Gay, rookie Lonnie Walker and key guys that have found a niche in their system with names including Patty Mills and Davis Bertans.

Ultimately, the Spurs will be slightly better than last year with the trade and I would look for them to be strong candidates to win 50 games next year. The only knock on the move for me was not getting a future draft pick but overall this move gets a solid A- from me.

Toronto Raptors: B

As I stated in the beginning of this article, this is probably the biggest the biggest risk in franchise history. Toronto traded their franchise leading scorer for a player who has expressed that he wants to play in Los Angeles and this appears to be a one year rental.

The part of the deal that is overlooked in my opinion is the Danny Green aspect. During the turmoil in San Antonio throughout the 2017-2018 season, Danny Green was one of the few people in that locker room that advocated for Kawhi and was more optimistic. It can be noted that Kawhi is a social anomaly and not too many people know much about him personally but Danny Green is one of the ones who have fostered a relationship with Leonard during their tenure with the Spurs. Toronto is banking on building a relationship with Kawhi throughout the 2019 season with the help from Green to have a puncher’s chance at retaining him next summer.

I give the move a B because of the future risk with losing Kawhi. Toronto can see if they can pull what the Oklahoma City Thunder did with Paul George but given Kawhi’s personality and his clear motives, that lies a tough task.

Nevertheless, on paper Toronto got better, especially defensively. Throwing Leonard and Green in situations with Kyle Lowry, OG Anunoby and Jonas Valanciunas makes for a competitive team in the new LeBron-less Eastern Conference. Look for Toronto to be in contention for a top seed and battle with Boston and Philadelphia all year. We have to just see how new coach Nick Nurse will mesh it all together.