By Jordan Long
The San Antonio Spurs have finally traded Kawhi Leonard. The Spurs have been in talks with teams about trading the forward this summer. On Wednesday they dealt him to the Toronto Raptors along with Danny Green for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltland, and protected 2019 first-round pick.
Leonard played 9 games with the Spurs last season because of a quad injury. In those games he was still productive with 16.2 points and 2.3 assists per game. On the defensive end, Leonard averaged 1 block, 2 steals and 4 defensive rebounds per game. The Spurs were hopeful he would be back for them next season.
Leonard wasn’t interested in playing for the Spurs long-term. He is eligible to become a free agent. When that happens, Leonard has stated he wants to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers next summer.
The Spurs needed to make a trade to at least receive something back. DeRozan is a better player than Leonard, at least on offense. DeRozan averages 19.7 points in his 9 year NBA career. He finds his teammates with easy looks to the basket.
DeRozan is not the defender Leonard is. Leonard is usually matched up with the opponent’s top shooter. His defense doesn’t allow many decent looks at the basket. DeRozan won’t be able to do that, but can still play defense. He can’t box out or block shots as well as Leonard. He averages 1 steal, 3.3 defensive rebounds and 0.3 blocks per game.
For the Raptors, acquiring Leonard improves their offense and defense even if it is for 1 season. He feeds his teammates for easy looks and shoots the basketball for points everywhere on the court. On the defensive end, the Raptors should have him on the opponents’ best shooter, limiting his points.
The Raptors are a team who now can advance to the NBA Finals with this move. They may not win it since the Golden State Warriors are more talented. This at least shows the Raptors are still title contenders. They should be one of the top teams in the East.
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