And just when you thought NBA drama is over for this summer, Kawhi Leonard somehow ends up in Canada.
NBA insiders are reporting that Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs have agreed on a trade that would send Leonard and Danny Green to Toronto in exchange for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and a protected 2019 first-round pick. The first round pick is protected from 1-20 and will convert to two second-round pick if not conveyed.
With this trade, ends the saga about Kawhi Leonard’s future, who asked for a trade from the Spurs at the beginning of the offseason. Leonard and the Spurs organization have been on bad terms since January when the 27-year-old wanted to seek another opinion on his quadriceps tendinopathy although he was cleared to play by the team’s doctors. This caused lots of miscommunication and disagreement between the two sides, and Leonard eventually decided he doesn’t want to play in San Antonio and asked to be traded to one of Los Angeles teams, Lakers or Clippers.
Although Kawhi Leonard to Raptors comes as a surprise for the casual NBA fans, since Toronto wasn’t mentioned as the potential destination, the team has been working on a trade with the Spurs for two weeks. The trade had several other variations and almost fell through before becoming finalized in on Wednesday.
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) July 18, 2018
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) July 18, 2018
Raptors will hope that they can repeat what Oklahoma City Thunder did with Paul George, and convince Leonard to resign with them despite his clear wish to be in Los Angeles. They can offer him five-year, $190 million contract in the summer while other teams can sign him on a four-year, $141 million deal.
Spurs, on the other side, get a 23+ points-a-game-player who is still under contract for three seasons in DeRozan, and a valuable rotation piece in Poeltl.
Thank you for everything, DeMar pic.twitter.com/nMkhAeH1He
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) July 18, 2018
