What's next for the Spurs after trading Kawhi Leonard?



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The San Antonio Spurs agreed to send Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors Tuesday night, and attrition is still unbeaten. The situational confluence of time, money and personal interest remains the NBA's big change agent. There is no reminder as if the star players changed sides, with DeMar DeRozan, a player that we thought was cut off in the same way. The last two months of Leonard's rumors softened the surprise of the blow, of course. Still, it's still a little strange to understand that even the Spurs, in many ways a model franchise, are bullet-proof.

It is quite difficult to build a team of substance in any professional sport. to himself. All winning formulas ultimately control the change. The adjustment of prices by a sense of stagnation has become a reasonable off-season prerogative for the Toronto front office. It's easy to understand what's going on in Leonard's Final and over a year, and losing Jakob Poeltl and a favorably protected first-rounder while bringing in a second Danny Green player. Is not so bad. The reputation of the franchise and its long series of successes make things more difficult at the end of San Antonio, during a summer that saw Tony Parker leave and with the retirement of Manu Ginobili in the air

. Basketball was characterized by a rare disinterestedness that permeated the style of play as well as the cloakroom. Watching a more and more upset Leonard force the hand of his own team was unusual and unexpected. It was thought that he was the torchbearer post-Tim Duncan of the franchise, bursting on the stage in the 2014 Finals, painted like a silent killer without any frills. Although it's never good for a quote, Leonard's straight-face approach has always proven a compelling roadmap for the NBA stable of flashy and flashy superstars. He is coming out of an injury, and who knows what Toronto will get at this point. But at his best, Leonard remains a closed corner, the rare defensive franchise player who rejects his own celebrity, perhaps more of a "unicorn" than any other talent in the league.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "From the outside looking, It's hard to swallow given how carefully the work aesthetics of Leonard's game always seemed to match the spirit of the Spurs: by developing his own departure, Leonard manages to unravel his own mystic as well Although that of his now-defunct franchise, Kawhi Leonard does not want to play in Toronto No matter who in Leonard's camp performs the plays, he's responsible for a saga shot the curtain on his own motives, as well as the fact that it is very clear that the Spurs The grumpy culture – an entity in itself – is not a catch-all. "Data-reactid =" 21 "> From the outside, it is difficult to swallow since the aesthetics of Leonard's game always seems to match the ethic of the Spurs. In preparing for his own departure, Leonard managed to unravel his own mystique as well as that of his former franchise, but rumors of his misfortune ended up taking an irritating tone, up to the 4 o'clock warning buzzer 35, Eastern time. Wednesday: Kawhi Leonard has no desire to play in Toronto No matter who in Leonard's camp performs the plays, he is responsible for a saga that brought down the curtain on its own motives, It is clear that the highly discussed Spurs culture – an entity in itself – is not a catch-all, this kind of misfortune will have rival teams that will smile privately

. The pathos of this divorce will have to be relaunched. Taking this case is not a king's ransom, but DeRozan will help them stay competitive. Treating an unhappy and motivated Leonard who has taken steps to separate himself from the values ​​of the organization prevents it from becoming a total identity crisis. As long as Gregg Popovich is the coach of the team, San Antonio will be able to seriously sell the strength of his own foundation. They will likely avoid a complete reshuffle, at least until 2021, with LaMarcus Aldridge under contract and DeRozan holding a player option for this year. They will hoist a cavalcade of mid-range jumpers and hope to take it away.

The last end-of-season domino is the fate of Ginobili, which remains a joy to watch at age 40 but can only figure in cash minutes. In any case, consider this as a real change of guard in San Antonio, where Ginobili and Mills are now the last remnants of the 2014 title team that broke all records, pushed LeBron back and solidified Leonard as a force . It will not be long before the discussion turns to Popovich, who will be 70 years old during the season. He's committed to coaching the US national team through the 2020 Olympic cycle, which could lead to a difficult reunion with his former star. But if the Spurs' situation shrinks in the next two years and indicates a complete rebuilding, it can put its patience to the test.

Thinking in the short term, losing Leonard does not mean no guarantee of a return to the playoffs. With LeBron coming to Los Angeles, only two teams, the Suns and Kings, can expect to lose a lot of games. The Spurs are likely to start a five-goal start from Dejounte Murray, DeRozan, Rudy Gay, Aldridge and Pau Gasol. Patty Mills returns to anchor the bench, second-year guard Derrick White could be about to come out, and additions of Marco Belinelli and Dante Cunningham as a free agent will create some stability. Poeltl is a young capable support who has had good times for the Raptors. Rookie shooter Lonnie Walker is a promising talent, but he will need a bit of seasoning and it is likely that he will not need any substantial contributions any more than a year from now.

There is no indication that the Spurs will not be very competitive. out, and should have enough for a 22nd place in the playoffs. But if the Leonard trade (or really, history in general) is an indicator, nothing big never ends up as we want it, or think it will. There are young talents here, and plenty of time to get things done and reframe the alignment while remaining relevant. Whatever the case may be, the future of San Antonio is much less certain than what we expected. Whatever the case may be, Leonardo's business will remain an inflection point and will remind us that even the most solid foundations are not permanent.

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