Westbrook? The Knicks would have to unload some contracts to make that happen. They spent all their money at the Five & Dime shop that they can’t afford a new Rolex when it comes available
Too bad for Toronto fans Kawhi rejected them, but the silver lining is he fucked the Lakers in the ass so at least the rest of the league is very happy Here's hoping to another season of a broken down finished LeBron missing the playoffs again even with AD
He did reject them, but he never wanted to be there, and he gave them as much as Dirk gave to the Mavericks, and Lebron gave to Cleveland, which was one title. Its one of the greatest sports stories/oddysies of all time, especially the way the whole playoffs went down.
Raptor fans will hold Kahwi in the same regards Rangers fans regard the 94 Rangers — a team built to win the championship in that year and delivered. They got a title they’ve dreamed of and have Kahwi to thank for it. I don’t see how they can feel anything but elation and gratitude to Kahwi.
They will build a statue for him and he will be a legend in Toronto forever. He never wanted to be there, but he made the most of it. The NBA is by far the hardest league to win in, he was able to go there for one year and change the Raptors franchise forever. I think its a larger accomplishment than what Lebron did by winning for Cleveland. Its actually probably the greatest single season accomplishment in sports history. Its still weird to comprehend that this guy got sent up to Toronto, where there wasn't a real #2 superstar (in a league where every superstar wants/waits to play for another superstar), and was able to win the the title in year one of his arrival.....then he leaves. We will NEVER see anything like that again, in any sport.
The Raptors had the best record in the NBA east the year before without Leonard. When James joined Cleveland they were 17 and 65. The Raptors were a very good team without Leonard. He was amazing in stretches. He was mediocre in the finals. The Warriors lost through attrition. A healthy Warriors team blows them out. They were plus 5 with Thompson on the floor. There is no comparison to what Lebron did in Cleveland. The Raptors have been a very good team that couldn't get over the hump. They faced a Warriors team that was highly compromised in the finals.
To be fair, when Lebron first joined Cleveland they only improved to a 35 win team the first year, almost exactly like the year Kyrie was drafted. I can say that Lebron's finals win against the 73 win Warriors in the finals was one of the best performances in the history of the NBA, second only to Jordan, but most of Lebron's success has come via forming super teams. Even that Cavs team a few years back had much more star power and talent than the Raptors did. The Raptors were not a super team. They had some very good players, but the only superstar was Leonard. Lowry is a shell of his former self, still a solid player, and Green is skilled, but they are not even close to the level of Kyrie Irving or Dwayne Wade. So it's not like Leonard joined an already stacked team, he took the place of another super star and improved the team just enough.
Good post, agreed. To be fair James was still in diapers. Leonard was potty trained and well past being breast fed.
I actually agree with your side to....its interesting too look at. Do you think if 27 year old Lebron got sent to Toronto he would have won the title this year ? Do you think if Kawhi was on the 2016 Cavaliers team, they win the title over Golden State?
I never understood the hate towards LeBron, when he came into the league and was being praised for not really accomplishing anything was a little annoying, but he has produced at a HOF level. Jealousy I can understand but to act like he has done nothing is just absurd, when people put their personal bias aside and simply look at his accomplishments, he’s a dominant player. What fans have to understand as well is the business side of basketball, he treats it the same way the owners treat it, it’s about getting as much out of it as you can before your career is over.
The reality is Leonard ain't close to the player James was in his prime. James is an all time great. Leonard is an all time very good. James deserves some of the hate he inspires because he basically did his home town dirty twice. Leonard gets a pass because he didn't manipulate his move to Toronto and he rejected the Lakers which is a huge plus for him.
Leonard can become an all time great, he will only be 28 years old. Lebron is a phenomenal player, but his biggest issue has always been that he wants to be the one in control of an organization, and I think it cost him some success because of that.
