Everyone knows about the flashy moves that vaulted the Raptors into the NBA Finals, but ESPN’s Brian Windhorst examines some of the under-the-radar happenings that have Toronto on the verge of its first championship. One of them dates back to 2011 when they nabbed highly respected trainer Alex McKechnie after the Lakers let his contract expire. McKechnie has led the way in keeping Kawhi Leonard healthy and building his trust in the organization after his experience in San Antonio.
The Raptors also benefited when the Nuggets declined to match their offer to team president Masai Ujiri in 2013, when the Knicks turned down a trade involving Kyle Lowry during the 2013/14 season, and when Pascal Siakam decided to attend a Basketball Without Borders camp in 2012 because it gave him a chance to visit his sister in South Africa.
Windhorst also examines the trade that brought Marc Gasol from the Grizzlies in February, noting that the deal wouldn’t have been possible unless Memphis was able to unload salary to keep from going into luxury tax territory. The answer came when the Clippers agreed to take Garrett Temple and JaMychal Green in exchange for Avery Bradley, allowing Toronto to pick up Gasol, who has provided a valuable veteran presence in the middle.
There’s more Raptors news to pass along:
- The Knicks would have sent several players to Toronto in the Lowry deal, including Metta World Peace and Iman Shumpert, along with a 2018 first-round pick, according to Frank Isola of The Athletic. Owner James Dolan decided to nix the trade because he didn’t fare well in two previous deals with Ujiri, including the one that brought Carmelo Anthony to New York.
- Danny Green seems to save his best performances for the NBA Finals, notes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Green, who is headed for free agency, made six 3-pointers in Game 3 and is among just two players to make at least 15 Finals 3-pointers while shooting better than 50% from long range. “I don’t think it’s the stage,” Green said. “I think it’s just the life of a shooter. Sometimes you have ups and downs and I think luckily, during this time, I’ve had some ups.”
- Knicks officials are confident that they will get a meeting with Leonard when free agency starts at the end of the month, relays Mark Berman of The New York Post. They may explore the possibility of teaming Leonard with Kevin Durant now that Kyrie Irving is rumored to be headed to Brooklyn.
I’d say there’s a very good chance of the Knicks missing out on all the major FAs.
There’s probably a better chance of that happening than of them getting either of KD or Kawhi.
Especially now that Brooklyn has the space, I really only see KD and Kawhi looking at 2 teams (Nets or Clippers for KD, Raptors or Clippers for Kawhi).
In my reading of the tea leaves, I see KD going with Kyrie to Brooklyn, and Kawhi staying in Toronto.
Yeah all this knicks FA talk is pretty funny to me. New York is an over rated city, Toronto is much better. Furthermore, the Knicks are RRASH and have been for a long time, and are terribly managed. Why the hell any respectable FA would want to leave a winning culture and go to NY, the mecca of losing, is beyond me. Knicks fans arguing that FAs would want to come to New York because “there’s nothing like winning in NY, you’ll be a hero forever” are delusional. The Knicks ate trash and will stay that way until Dolan sells the team and they start building the organization properly, like the Raptors did by bringing in Masai. It’s a process, you can’t just suck then think every major FA will want to sign with you “because it’s New York”.
I understand that Americans prefer NYC and Canadians typically prefer Toronto (or better yet, Vancouver!)…
But these points are all right on. The Knicks are terrible. They have a terrible owner, and they frequently make terrible decisions. Who’s their best player right now?
If you want to go to NYC, I’d think you go to Brooklyn. The Nets are way better run, have a core of quality players on cheap contracts, and they can add two max contracts. The only slight advantage the Knicks had were that they had a little more cap wiggle room than the Nets, and the Nets/Hawks trade took that advantage away.
I think it’s going to be a very disappointing summer for Knicks fans. If anything, there’s at least a 50/50 chance of them finding a way to blow the 3rd overall pick in a 3-player, top-heavy draft.
Mhmm… no, Canadians look at Toronto and the folks who revere it much the same many Americans look at those who revere NYC. Conceited clowns may be one mild way to put it.
Agree, in my experience Vancouver is sooo much better than Toronto, well just my opinion!
I think Vancouver might be the prettiest city in North America. Hard to compete with a rain forrest, mountains, beaches, the ocean, rivers, etc etc mixed with a well-designed cosmopolitan city.
It’s really too bad they lost the Grizzlies. Completely the owners fault, in my opinion.
Who uses the moniker “the GTA”? Is that widespread?
GTA, in this context, stands for Greater Toronto Area. It’s all urban sprawl surrounding Toronto and Lake Ontario. It’s been widely used as a term for a while now, though I get how non-Canadians might find it strange.
It was super confusing for me when Grand Theft Auto starting using the same short form.
I grew up in the GTA, though I was a good 30-45 minutes from Toronto. A “small” city called “Burlington” (200,000ish).
The whole area, and the Golden Horseshoe (Toronto through to Niagara Falls, following the lake) have a ton of people. The cities all run into each other.
Well if the hinterlanders agree with it, okay. But in Buffalo they have to say “West New York” which has to be annoying to Buffalo-ans. And how many local newscasters have to lead off with “Today in the valley,…” !
“Canadians look at Toronto and the folks who revere it much the same many Americans look at those who revere NYC.”
I don’t think that’s true. I think there’s some midwest bias vs Toronto in Canada, but I know a lot of people from all over, and those who have actually visited the city seem to really like it.
It goes the same with NYC. People don’t like it unless they’ve been there. I’ve been surprised by how many people love NYC here in Nebraska.
(NYC comes up a lot because we moved here from Buffalo, and people here think that Buffalo and NYC are basically next door to each other).
kawhi leaves for the clippers does toronto have buyers remorse? mortgaging the house on a 1 year rental with an aging team made no sense to me
Of course they don’t. They are in the NBA FINALS for Christ sake. This trade made a lot of sense when it first happened, and now that the Raps are in the NBA finals, it makes even more sense. What in the mouth breathing heck are you even talking about
“…mouth breathing heck…”
AWESOME!
I still don’t see Kawhi going to the Clippers.
He’d be leaving a bunch of money on the table, a better marketing opportunity, a better team, and he’d still be nearly a 3 hour drive from home.
How on earth can you explain a better marketing opportunity up in Toronto than in LA???
Right now “we the north” would buy anything he might pitch!
Friend, I explain the better marketing opportunity by directing you to Google.
Mortgaging the house? They got out from DeRozan’s big contract and Kawhi has led them to the Finals.
One year of Kawhi and the Finals >>> 2-3 years of losing in the second round with DeRozan.
Umloaded DeRozans contract and made the Finals lmao. Remorse for what?!?!
How did they “mortgage the house”? They traded away Rozen, who most would agree wasn’t worth the $27 mil per he’s due, a reserve player in Poeltl and a late 1st round top 20 protected pick. Mortgaging the house would be trading away multiple 1st round picks.
Imo, if the Raptors win, I can’t see Leonard leaving Toronto. He certainly wouldn’t be leaving for basketball reasons. Toronto also has very little on their ledger after the 2019-20 season so they can make a lot of moves to improve the team as they have several expiring contracts going into next season. It would be a bold move to trade away key pieces of this years team like Gasol, Lowry or Ibaka but if they do then they might be in play for a top FA.
Toronto, an organization thought to be very stable and coming off a Finals appearance might be considered a better situation for key FA vs the Lakers and Knicks, two organizations with a checkered front office history that come with a lot of uncertainty and perhaps unreasonable expectations and the Clippers and Nets who are still developing contenders in need of more star power. If Toronto can maintain their core and maybe re-purpose money from Gasol might be able to get away with a 2nd or 3rd tier FA that fits the team and complements Kawhi. They can be perennial ECF contenders with Kawhi, a second star and their core from this season.
Isn’t the whole purpose of team sports to win a championship????? How does that make no sense to you?
Toronto loses and the finals appearance is more than worth 1 year of Kawhi, assuming he leaves, which is anything but certain. The entire GTA is alive with Raptors fever. Pushing the Leafs down the popularity chart and the Jays???
Of course, we should remember that the Warriors are 1-4 vs the Raptors this year… It doesn’t help that they’re banged up, but who isn’t banged up this year?
If they hit a couple of wide-open shots in game 3, then we’d be talking about Toronto going for the sweep tonight.
If they hit a couple shots in Game 3 we’d be talkin about Toronto goin for a sweep? Toronto hit a TON of shots in game 3.
At least, in my tv Lowry, Green, and VanVleet did.
My bad, I meant game 2, where the Raptors went on a huge dry spell and their shooters couldn’t hit wide open shots in the 3rd.
If it wasn’t for a very lucky shot that bounced 4, yes 4!!! times in the ring, Toronto would have gone home in R2EC as always & Philly would be in the finals… Ifs, shoulds, woulds, coulds…
A lot of nonsense!
A lot of nonsense, just like your take on the Bucks getting ready to destroy the Raptors and Giannis being light years better than Kawhi. LMAO!!!
If it wasn’t for a phantom foul call on a completely clean block right in front of the ref that let Philly tie the game, that “lucky shot” wouldn’t have been needed at all.