Is today Kawhiday? | Matt Thomas can get buckets
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Kawhi Leonard waiting game something Raptors are willing to play if necessary – The Athletic
If anything, Leonard’s approach so far is a throwback to .. .not very long ago at all. The zaniness that came with July 1 (now June 30) each of the last few years masks that traditionally, a free agency process takes some time. LeBron James waited painfully long at times. Carmelo Anthony toured half the league at one point. Even Kevin Durant’s big move to the Golden State Warriors came after a series of meetings and pitches. Leonard’s patient — and it’s bizarre that we’re calling “didn’t sign in the first 18 hours of free agency” a sign of patience — is the not-so-long-ago norm.
Toronto Raptors fans probably feel some sort of way about that, I realize. Every minute Leonard has not re-signed is a minute he could be considering another destination. It’s important to keep in mind that Leonard did not choose to come to Toronto initially, and while the Raptors have several advantages to retaining him and their season-long pitch went about as well as it could have, Leonard has earned the right to explore his options as a free agent.
Any number of scenarios could be playing out. Yes, it’s possible he doesn’t want to return and is choosing between Los Angeles destinations. It’s also possible he just wants to hear what other teams have to sell so he has a point of comparison for Toronto and San Antonio, his lone NBA experiences to date. He may even be getting to know other franchises to create a baseline relationship for later in his career, if he winds up signing a shorter-term deal with the Raptors to seek his 10-year-vet maximum contract in 2021. A lot of factors are at play here, including the happiness and desired destination of Leonard’s family, which figures to weigh heavily given what we know about Leonard.
The waiting is difficult, to be sure.
It is not as damaging for the Raptors as it might seem with so many names flying off the board early on. The Raptors are in a unique position in terms of opportunity cost this week, in that their options are fairly limited — and straightforward — whether Leonard leaves or stays. They obviously have a strong, strong preference for him to stay, and so even if there were a real cost of waiting it out, they’d be happy to do so if it meant retaining him.
Kawhi Leonard in no rush to determine fate of Raptors, NBA title hopefuls – Sportsnet.ca
On an Instagram Live post early Monday morning Green said he had engaged in conversations with the Lakers, Mavericks, Clippers and Raptors but was planning to stay patient.
One reading of that is Green — a free-agent at age 32 coming off the best season of his career — didn’t feel compelled to jump into the richest deal he could find in the early hours of free agency because he’s still optimistic about the Raptors chances to bring Leonard back.
Among Leonard’s remaining suitors, the Raptors have the most to offer Green. The most the Lakers could offer after they sign Leonard would be a deal starting at $4.8-million a year – the ‘Mid-Level Exception’ — and the Clippers would be in the same boat.
The Raptors? They can spend whatever they want to sign Green as they own his ‘Bird Rights.’
Of course other teams could offer Green the ‘non-taxpayer, Mid-Level’ which starts at $9.3-million and could total $37.2-million – which perhaps would give Green some comfort in waiting things out — but that the Raptors sharp-shooter is willing to see what Leonard is going to do could be read as at least some optimism that he can run it back in Toronto.
But again, it all depends on Leonard.
KawhiWatch: Kawhi Leonard Toying With Entire City Of Los Angeles – Deadspin
This is especially funny because so many future decisions for so many billionaires hinge on his. While he does his adorable and antiquated thing, the pool of potential Lakers targets continues to thin out. While teams like the Nets and Sixers load up to capacity, it’s still just LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the center of a gaping void. Lesser superstars are getting settled in Boston and Miami. Affordable shooters are finding new homes. Old veterans are raking in sums that Rob Pelinka couldn’t afford. Sure, there’s always a buyout for (former Pelinka client) Andre Iguodala looming ahead; there’s J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony on minimums to provide LeBron some companionship and/or chucking. But Pelinka is trapped in in an ungodly game of chicken right now. If his reward is not Kawhi, it might be bleak.
And maybe it is Kawhi. Toronto’s hero had a phone call with recent Lakers employee Magic Johnson on Sunday night, and it was reportedly “positive,” which is perhaps just a way to say it contained several dozen instances of “Wow!” and “Look at that!” As the L.A. Times’s Broderick Turner laid out, he was full of questions for his potential suitor. Kawhi wanted to know if the Lakers had made a sincere effort to take him off the Spurs hands. Kawhi’s uncle Dennis wanted to know if front office was as dysfunctional as it looks from the outside, which is a funny question to ask the guy who publicly resigned without telling anyone. Kawhi wanted to know if he could bring in his own medical and training staff just like LeBron did, because his health and upkeep has clearly been a sticking point in the past. Kawhi Leonard is asking careful questions and listening carefully to the answers, like he didn’t just see the whole universe rearrange itself.
On one slightly deranged line of thought the Lakers must be getting Kawhi, because this is too busted a course of action to make sense of otherwise. So book it now: Kawhi Leonard is sliding into purple-and-yellow, completing what may well be the best trio of NBA talent ever. Or—he’s just bleeding out the Lakers’ options to surround the scariest two-man combination in the league, neutering them the best he can before he signs next door with the Clippers, who still have plenty of cap space to play with. Or maybe he’s just in the middle of a really good audiobook, and can you just give him some time? Goddamn.
Scouting report: New Raptors sharpshooter Matt Thomas – The Athletic
Based on international Player Impact Plus-Minus data provided by Jacob Goldstein, Thomas was worth 1.31 points per 100 possessions in Spanish ACB action and 4.17 in EuroCup action. So his impact was real beyond just adding a boost from long-range. The entirety of that value comes on offence, as Thomas isn’t much of a defender by eye test or by analytics. The normal translation for those stats is stark coming to the NBA. Using those PIPM numbers from last year and without factoring in any growth yet, Thomas projects as a small positive on offence and a negative on defence.
There aren’t many comparables from this NBA season in terms of his translated impact at both ends, but Marco Belinelli and Tim Hardaway Jr. are in the same general area, with Joe Harris as a potential upside target.
What’s encouraging about Thomas’ potential to translate his game is just how tremendous a shooter he is. Over his two pro seasons, 53 percent of his shot attempts have come from long-range, and even as defences have tried to account for one of the highest-volume 3-point gunners in those leagues, he’s continued to hit an elite percentage. Synergy Sports shows him posting an effective field-goal percentage of 82 percent on catch-and-shoot jump shots, including a ridiculous 99-percent mark when left wide open. He’s also an elite free-throw shooter, which backs up the quality of his shot even on pretty small volume.
Matt Thomas agrees on three-year deal with Toronto Raptors | Eurohoops
Thomas, 24, was one of Valencia’s main contributors in the 2018-19 season, leading the team to the 7DAYS EuroCup trophy and the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague ticket for next season.
He posted 12.5 points and 1.7 assists in 23 EuroCup games in his rookie season in the competition.
During his two seasons in the Spanish league – he also played for Obradoiro in Spain during the 2017-18 season – Thomas managed to create a reputation as one of the greatest shooter in the old continent.
The contract the Raptors offered him will run for three years, and cost them 4.2 million dollars in total, which comes out to an average annual value of $1.4 million. Essentially, Thomas will be paid his minimum possible salary over the life of the contract, but because the contract runs for three years they’ll have to dip into the Mid-Level Exception to sign it. That likely won’t have any implications for their incumbent free agents, perhaps with the exception of Patrick McCaw, who they may need to use the MLE to re-sign.
It’s a low-risk signing, and the Raps get a guy who we know definitely has at least one NBA skill. Not a flashy move, but a solid one for sure. You can never have enough shooting.
Report: Raptors, EuroLeague star Matt Thomas agree to contract – Sportsnet.ca
The 24-year-old spent four years at Iowa State from 2013-2017 before heading overseas. He spent the 2017-18 season with Obradoiro CAB in the Spanish league. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard then signed a two-year contract with the Valencia Basket but the deal came with an opt-out clause that allowed him to pursue an opportunity in the NBA.
Thomas is best known for his terrific three-point shooting, connecting on 47.7 per cent of his attempts from beyond the arc in 2018-19.
LeBron and AD Don’t Need Kawhi to Win Titles, Says Kenny Smith – TMZ
No Klaw? No problem! … so says Kenny Smith, who says LeBron James and Anthony Davis are destined to lead the Lakers to NBA championships with or without Kawhi Leonard!
But don’t get it twisted — The Jet says Bron needs to do whatever he can to land a player like the Klaw … but if Leonard doesn’t sign with L.A., Lakers Nation shouldn’t freak out.
“You’ve got LeBron James, you’ve got Anthony Davis. [Leonard’s] just an extra bonus,” Smith tells TMZ Sports … “You should win the championship with that without question.”
NBA signing frenzy might play into Raptors’ hands in pursuit of Kawhi Leonard | The Star
NBA free agency is wild and dizzying, but Kawhi waited and everyone involved waited for him. Based on conversations with sources familiar with each side, the only solid bets seem to be these: The Lakers are a dazzling sideshow, with LeBron James and Anthony Davis and Magic Johnson doing ex parte work on behalf of the team he used to run. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported Kawhi’s people have called Magic. The Lakers appeared to be all-in on Kawhi, even as some close to the process dismissed them as a serious contender.
But the strong belief is this is down to the Raptors and the Clippers, and everyone is waiting for that. Toronto is a known quantity. Kawhi knows the coaching staff, his teammates — who could still all return, with shooting guard Danny Green pending — the front office, the medical staff, the travel, the practice facility, the weather, everything.
There are uncertainties, sure. What happens at the end of the 2019-20 season, where the contracts of Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka and Fred VanVleet expire? The dream free-agent class doesn’t arrive until 2021. And does team president Masai Ujiri get a contract extension to keep the league’s wolves from the door?
The Clippers, meanwhile, are home. Kawhi has family in California. He is someone who values old friends so much that lifelong pal Jeremy Castleberry has been an assistant coach in both San Antonio and Toronto. Kawhi’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, is his closest adviser. Family, familiarity, the pull of L.A. — they are real. The idea has been batted around all season long.
Sources indicate Kawhi has been pondering both options: the winning familiarity in Toronto, and the lure of home. The Raptors have been quietly confident in their position all week — and after a championship season, with relationships to Kawhi in place, that makes sense — without having any assurances.
So if Kawhi is trying to balance winning and home, Toronto now outpaces the Clippers in the winning department, and offers Kawhi the role as a number one guy that the Lakers can’t. You can’t ask for much more in Toronto.
And the context in which they work was clearer. In the East, the Milwaukee Bucks lost guard Malcolm Brogdon, who was at times their second-best player against Toronto in the Eastern Conference final. Philadelphia lost ace shooter J.J. Redick and Butler, but added shooting guard Josh Richardson from Miami, and Horford. Boston replaced Irving with Walker, but Horford walked. The Nets can become a contender with a healthy Durant in a year. Indiana got better on paper. But not enough.
We The Art: Raptors championship portraits displayed at Beaverbrook Art Gallery | CBC News
Smart is hoping to capitalize off the portraits by running some programs throughout the summer in connection with the oil paintings, but he said since it all came together so fast, he doesn’t have any details now on those programs.
He said the Toronto Raptors’ championship win was able to unite a country in a way that usually only happens through tragedy.
“Usually it’s around a loss, a great politician passes away, or a great citizen passes away, but here’s one time where the country was brought together around a really joyous occasion,” said Smart.
“And I thought that the deeper story was not just about a sports team, but about a new kind of Canada, a Canada that reflects diversity, reflects opportunity and good fun around a ball and a basketball court.”
The Raptors portraits will be on display in the gallery all summer and Smart hopes that if any of the players are in the area that they come see the set.
“It’s the only public showing of these paintings in the country,” said Smart. “If one of the fellas happens to be out here fishing this summer we hope they come by and see the paintings themselves.”
Send me anything Raptors-related that I missed: rapsfan@raptorsrepublic.com
