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The Toronto Raptors took the biggest gamble in the history of the franchise by completing an exchange with the San Antonio Spurs for star striker Kawhi Leonard
The Raptors' Job and the Spurs lands Leonard in Canada and sends star guard DeMar DeRozan to San Antonio as his main replacement. The Spurs will also host center Jakob Poeltl, while the Raptors will host Danny Green.
Leonard was limited to nine games last season by a quadriceps injury and may leave the Raptors in free agency next summer. 59 wins last season, but coach Dwane Casey, who was named NBA 's year coach by the media and his peers, was sacked after a humiliating second round inflicted by the Cleveland Cavaliers led by LeBron James
The buzz around the Raptors rushing into the draws of Leonard's trade was built last week.
The agreement establishes a potentially awkward meeting for Leonard and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich next week in Las Vegas, at a USA Basketball minicamp, which is expected to officially start in Popovich in As a successor to Mike Krzyzewski of Duke University as head coach of the US team Leonard is one of the top 35 players invited to the camp. [19659002] Teams interested in trading for Leonard have been constantly saying for weeks that the player has no interest in signing anywhere except Los Angeles – either with the Lakers or the Clippers – when he becomes a free agent in July 2019. Negotiating for Leonard is a big blow to the Toronto team's president, Masai Ujiri, who recalls the Oklahoma City trade with Indiana in July 2017 to bring star striker George George to the Thunder.
George was widely seen as determined to sign with the Lakers in free will this month from the time Oklahoma City acquired it. The Thunder, however, played anyway on an exchange for George and used his entire season to win George and persuade him to sign with the Thunder as Russell Westbrook's new star.
It seems that the Spurs are also getting reticent star in this business. ESPN reported Wednesday that DeRozan has met Raptor officials during the summer league games in Las Vegas, amid growing rumors regarding an exchange for Leonard, and badured that he would not be treated .
DeRozan seemed to confirm in an Instagram post posted Wednesday morning that potential trade news began to circulate, saying, "Be told one thing and get out another, I can not trust them." Is not a loyalty in this game. Sell yourself fast for a bit of nothing. "
The partnership had deteriorated during last season, Leonard and his representatives were dismayed by the initial handling of the Spurs. from the injury to the point that they entrusted Leonard's rehabilitation to doctors outside of the San Antonio organization for months.
The Spurs had been trading with several teams over the last month, including the Lakers, Philadelphia and Boston. Yet it seems that only Toronto was willing to yield several quality goods to Leonard, while many potential suitors feared that Leonard could leave the acquirer without compensation once he became a free agent on July 1, 2019.
Toronto will She has offered Leonard a five-year contract worth an estimated $ 190 million next season, which is close to the $ 220 million contract extension dollars that the Spurs could have offered to Leonard this summer
. Leonard next summer is a four year deal worth an estimated $ 140 million.
In DeRozan, San Antonio acquires a player who comes from his best NBA season and stays under contract for at least the next two seasons. DeRozan has the opportunity to give up the last season of his contract to become a free agent in July 2020.
Correction: An earlier version of this story wrongly stated that DeMar DeRozan could give up the last season from his contract and become a free agent in July 2021. The correct year is 2020.
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