It finally happened. According to ESPN, the San Antonio Spurs will trade Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green to Toronto for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and a 2019 protected first-round pick.
DeRozan and Leonard are reportedly not happy with the trade.
https://twitter.com/KanyeHasAnStd/status/1019561901016035330
https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1019500916880240640
Regarding this deal, Toronto gets better with Leonard in the lineup, but can they keep him moving forward? Leonard, 27, reportedly wants to play in Los Angeles and can be a free agent next summer.
Concerning DeRozan, he helps the Spurs now. The Spurs won 47 games essentially without Leonard, who played in only nine games due to a quad injury.
DeRozan, 28, has three years left on his contract and can opt out in 2021.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith gave his thoughts on the trade via Twitter.
Take a look:
https://twitter.com/stephenasmith/status/1019580782455808000
Even if Leonard leaves, Toronto still makes out pretty good with this deal. It became clear that they were not going to the NBA Finals with DeRozan and Kyle Lowry leading the way. Therefore, taking a shot at Leonard and trying to convince him to stay, is not a bad move, and with LeBron out the way, Toronto can be considered one of the favorites in the East.