Blockbuster trade a push
Raptors, Spurs can both claim victory in swap of NBA stars
The early returns are in, and we now have a winner from the summer blockbuster trade between San Antonio and Toronto. Both sides look victorious. Sometimes, trades really can benefit all parties involved – and this already looks to be one of those. Kawhi Leonard looks healthy again and has been fantastic in his first three games with the unbeaten Raptors (4-0), averaging 25.7 points and nine rebounds per game. DeMar DeRozan is averaging 29.3 points and nine assists for the Spurs, with a career-high 14 of those assists coming in Monday’s overtime win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Remember all those questions during the summer? Will Leonard like Toronto? Will DeRozan embrace the Spurs?
Asked and answered – so far. There’s still virtually an entire season left to play, but neither Leonard nor DeRozan is showing any sign of unhappiness right now. And that’s why both teams – for now, at least – can say the trade was a very good idea.
The bigger risk was taken by Toronto, who gave up an all-star in DeRozan for a former (and now probably current) MVP candidate in Leonard who missed almost the entirety of last season with a leg injury that turned into one of the NBA’s top mysteries of 2017-18. Leonard got a game off for maintenance last week, and his Spurs and Raptors teammate Danny Green – part of the trade as well – says he’s still going to get better.
“He’s still not back to where he normally is, but he’s getting glimpses of it,” Green said. “He’s starting to get back to himself, get into his rhythm. And you know, he usually doesn’t miss many shots.”
Green said it might not be until December that Leonard is back to his old form.
That must be a terrifying sentiment to opponents. Leonard is shooting 46 per cent, or only about 3.5 per cent down from what he did during his tenure in San Antonio.
DeRozan is shooting 44 per cent, basically right in line with his numbers from Toronto. Granted, again, it’s early, but his scoring numbers are way up so far – and so are his assists, which is particularly vital to the Spurs since they lost two point guards before the season started with injuries. Dejounte Murray will not play this season because of a torn ACL, and Derrick White has heel pain that still has him sidelined.
So DeRozan is taking up the slack. This could have gone bad for both clubs. If Leonard wasn’t healthy or wasn’t back to at least close to his former self, Masai Ujiri would be hearing it in Toronto. If DeRozan hadn’t snapped out of his post-trade funk – he acknowledged he wasn’t happy how things went down, though never badmouthed the Spurs organization – then San Antonio would have been in a very unfamiliar place.
Thing is, this deal was destined to work from a personality sense.
The Spurs love guys who talk on the floor and say very little off the court – Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, David Robinson, Tony Parker, LaMarcus Aldridge, Popovich, even Leonard. DeRozan didn’t exactly need training on that front; he’s always leaned toward the quiet side.