Drake is doing his part | Raptors not leaking shit | Kawhi impressed with chips and dip | We know nothing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixIF_XS03wc
More on #Clippers meeting:
They had a Meat and Cheese platter, equipped with over 10 dipping sauces. It made a big impression on Dennis Robertson, Kawhi’s Uncle.
Team and Kawhi feel like they are a good match. Believe SG Danny Green will follow.
— Mychael Anthony (@MychaelNBA) July 2, 2019
NBA Free Agency Diary: Waiting On Kawhi Could Mean The Lakers Miss Out On Everyone | FiveThirtyEight
On Monday, useful guards like Seth Curry (a Lakers target) and Austin Rivers came off the board, agreeing to deals with Dallas and Houston, respectively. Similarly, big man Enes Kanter — whose name came up in conjunction with the Lakers — struck a two-year deal with the Celtics. All are players who fill particular roles and could be valuable to a contender.
Yet because of the money needed to give to Leonard, the Clippers and Lakers can’t do all that much until the superstar makes up his mind about where he wants to play next season.
This isn’t to say absolutely nothing can get done, of course. The Clippers entered free agency with enough space for two max-level free agents, but once it became clear that Leonard was the only one they still had a chance of landing, the team dipped into some of its cap space by making a good value deal with rugged stopper Pat Beverley. They also swooped in and dealt for forward Maurice Harkless, a starting-caliber forward, in Miami’s sprawling Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade. (The move eats about $11 million in cap space, but it also netted the Clips a future first-round pick.)
The Lakers agreed to a veteran’s minimum deal with Troy Daniels, who’s known for his long-distance accuracy but not much else. This is the extent of what they can do for now, though. As a team that just barely has the space to afford Leonard’s max deal, the Lakers don’t have excess cap to throw at anyone else without knowing what the two-time NBA Finals MVP is doing. They’re rumored to have interest in fellow Raptors free agent Danny Green, but Green, a 3-and-D specialist, is reportedly waiting on Leonard, which would give him a better sense of whether he should return to Toronto for a possible title defense. (And unfortunately for the Lakers, even if Leonard were to sign with the Clippers, it sounds like Dallas will be the front-runner for Green’s services if Leonard ends up leaving the defending champions for one of the Los Angeles clubs.)
This waiting game is an unintended consequence of the split-it-up strategy for handling the Lakers’ cap space. The notion of building a deeper roster, particularly after last season’s debacle with the injury to LeBron James, makes sense. But no team would pass up the chance to sign someone as talented as Leonard, especially with how wide open the title race is at this point.
Where in the World Is Kawhi Leonard? – The Ringer
Kawhi is scheduled to meet with the Clippers (if he hasn’t already), the Lakers, and the Raptors. That is the beginning and the end to what we currently know about the NBA’s lowest-profile superstar, the oxymoron that is Kawhi Leonard. I hope he’s just eating a bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich somewhere reading up on the Cricket World Cup.
Kawhi Leonard is torturing the Lakers, Clippers, and all of us – SBNation.com
Dear Kawhi Leonard,
What it do, babeeeeeeeee?
The only superstar NBA free agent who didn’t agree to a deal on Sunday also didn’t agree to a deal on Monday. And here we all are all the way on July 2 for crying out loud, still waiting for Kawhi to decide between the NBA champion Toronto Raptors, the LA Lakers, and the LA Clippers. Everything is relative, and the other big names making their deals before free agency even began (even at its earlier than usual time market this season) has made the Kawhi wait unbearable, even though in reality it’s been only a matter of hours.
It’s been especially unbearable, one imagines, for the Lakers, who have a whole dang roster to fill out around LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Kyle Kuzma. LA did get a deal with Troy Daniels on Monday, so there will be *a* guard on the roster. (Whew.) The Raptors are in a holding pattern, too, and the Clippers’ only moves of consequence have been to bring back Patrick Beverley and absorb Mo Harkless and a pick in the reconstituted Jimmy Butler sign and trade.
I wrote that even as of Monday morning, the Lakers and Clippers were aiming at Kawhi or bust because the rest of free agency moved so quickly. It’d be interesting to have seen free agency evolve had Durant waited until a few days into July like he did in 2016, to see how everyone else would react and how situations like that of D’Angelo Russell would have played out. Alas.
Latest Kawhi Leonard rumours: Lakers now ‘first choice?’ – Sportsnet.ca
Passing the test?
On Sunday night ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne said part of the lack of concrete rumours and information being leaked to media sources is a result of a “loyalty test” Kawhi and his camp are giving to teams.
The Raptors have been tight-lipped through this process, which should give them the edge in this regard.
Spending in T.O. increased 101% during Raps NBA finals games | Toronto Sun
The Raptors’ championship parade was an incredible spectacle, as hundreds of thousands of ravenous Raptors fans packed the streets in the heat, waiting to catch a glimpse of the players and team staff along the route.
During the parade, spending in bars across the GTA and Toronto was down 30% while spending on fast food and in restaurants was up 17% and 23%.
With so many people in the downtown core, once the parade passed by and fans began to leave, restaurants in downtown Toronto were swamped, as data shows spending in restaurants spiked at 150% around 4 p.m.
Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard pitch is on deck | The Star
Unprecedented times, indeed.
Adding to the intense scrutiny and high level of anxiety around the Raptors fan base, at least, is the fact that this is an unprecedented free agency period in franchise history — nothing close in 25 years.
In 2016, DeMar DeRozan was a free agent and didn’t even meet with another team before agreeing to remain in Toronto, on the contract that was eventually part of the deal that brought Leonard to town.
Kyle Lowry investigated other possible destinations — Minnesota chief among them — in 2017, but a collapsing point-guard market that summer and the Timberwolves’ desire to avoid paying luxury tax conspired to send him back to the Raptors on a three-year, $100-million U.S. deal that expires at the end of next season.
Even back in the relative infancy of the franchise, there was nothing like this. Fans started an ill-fated “Come Back, T-Mac” campaign aimed at keeping Tracy McGrady in 2000, but he blew out of town the first chance he got, and even negotiations on new deals with Vince Carter and Chris Bosh did not match the magnitude of the current situation.
Who Has the Most to Lose in Kawhi Leonard Sweepstakes? | Bleacher Report
Raptors would still have that ring
Toronto hardly belongs in the conversation about which franchise will be in the most distress without Leonard. The Raptors are mere weeks removed from a title, having gotten as much from their year with Kawhi as anyone could have imagined.
Sure, losing Leonard would remove the Raptors from serious title contention and turn 2019-20 into a stopgap year before Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka hit free agency next summer. But Toronto knew Leonard was likely a one-year rental. It did everything it could to sell him on life with the Raptors, winning a ring and being feted like royalty during a championship parade—one that ended up feeling like a coronation. If it wasn’t enough, the Raptors can move on knowing they gave it everything they had.
And they certainly shouldn’t be caught off guard.
2018-19 Toronto Raptors Player Review: Malcolm Miller’s recovery and long road back – Raptors HQ
I suppose the highlight of Miller’s 2019 season came in the last few minutes of Game 6 against the Sixers. With coach Nick Nurse disappointed with his rotation players’ effort, he inserted the end of the roster players and set them to work hard in both ends of the court.
Miller showcased his defensive versatility, being able to switch from 1-5, defend well, and be the ragtag team’s small-ball centre. (Nurse played Fred VanVleet-Norman Powell-Jodie Meeks-Patrick McCaw-Malcolm Miller, if you’ll recall; it was a rough game.) It wasn’t much, but Miller also showed his range, that he could hit shots if his teammates found him open.
As a group, this bunch of Raptors demonstrated the fire that Nurse was looking for, almost bringing down Philly’s 20-point lead to single digits. Most of all, just like the rest of that group, Miller showed he could play to Nurse’s standard.
Now, Miller is back to where he was at the start of the season — feeling good again on how the year ended, optimistic heading into Summer League and training camp, potentially fighting for rotation minutes so that he can show what he’s capable of.
With the uncertainty surrounding Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green’s free agency, Miller could be one of the players to benefit if one or both of them decide to move on to another team. If that happens, it’s up to Malcolm to show that, yes, it’s Miller Time.
KawhiWatch: Drake Attempting To Acquire More Chips And Dip – Deadspin
Imagine having to make one of the most important decisions of your Hall of Fame career, only be to interrupted by a FaceTime from a damp man shouting “The Toronto Raptors are a college sports team, I promise you,” or, “Let’s go get another chip. Let’s bring them dips!” Or maybe the message will be more discreet—like a million-dollar watch that reads “I WANT TO/RELISH/YOUR REBOUNDS.”
Send me anything I missed: rapsfan@raptorsrepublic.com
