After a few initial comments on the Kawhi Leonard trade (and subsequent pause), I have been silent on basketball this summer. With the trade on pause, and as an outsider, I had no insight beyond reading tea leaves on what the well-regarded pundits were saying. Now that the trade is complete and I have finished launching this blog, I feel it’s worth making some brief comments on this summer.
Let’s start with the former Raptors:
** I feel Raptor fans should be incredibly grateful to Brandon Ingram. Yes, he was rewarded with a contract that was too rich, but the man leaned into the city and his work. That work paid off in his healthiest season since his rookie year, setting career highs for himself in many statistical categories and earning an All Star selection. His calm, stoic demeanor is a façade for an extremely hard-working professional and teammate, and his impact was on the team’s success huge, helping the Raptors increase from 33 to 46 wins. He was grateful for the opportunity to refresh his career in Toronto, and one would guess he wasn’t thrilled to be sent back to LA and a less competitive situation, at least in the short term. The Raptors are in a strong position today, particularly when compared to 24 months ago, and that has a ton to do with BI3.
** Regular readers know that I have always been a fan and believer in Gradey Dick. His shooting touch was easy to sense even though the shot didn’t fall for him like we all hoped it would. Dude was always hustling, always in shape, and making the right play. If he cannot unlock his shooting in a much more meaningful way, I have doubts about his ability to carve out an NBA career. However, if that shot unlocks, I believe he has the potential to be an impactful rotation player. I like Darko, but I never felt he used Gradey in a way that would maximize his abilities. Perhaps Ty Lue – an incredible tactical coach – can unlock Gradey’s potential.
** With all the excitement surrounding Kawhi’s return to Toronto, the departure of Sandro Mamukelashvili is going to significantly hurt the Raptors, particularly in the regular season. His shooting, spacing and grab-and-go game were perfect off the bench for this team. My hope is that Allen Graves can provide a reasonable facsimile of what Mamu did, but it is hard to expect a rookie to fill such big shoes. Mamu was a joy to watch, and it will be a challenge for Darko to recreate the spark Mamu provided off the bench.
On to the new guys:
** So much ink has been spilled on the Kawhi addition, and I don’t think I can hold a candle to the many efforts to describe his impact joining this squad. While I share in the incredible excitement of his return, I am not sure if fans are processing the significant potential downside. I apologize for being a downer just after the hope-springs-eternal vibe of media day, but it is not hard to imagine how this turns sour quickly. If Kawhi plays significantly less than half the games, you have the same team as last year minus BI/Mamu against the highly improved Eastern Conference in the absence of a third of the league tanking. That is a very plausible pathway to missing the playoffs, which will sting even worse when their lottery pick is swapped with the Clippers, which will actually deliver the Thunder’s late round first. Sorry to say this, but the downside risk here is absolutely catastrophic.
** With that out of the way, I am truly much more optimistic about the team’s chances. The team’s regular season weaknesses last year were defensive rebounding, scoring in the half court, and beating quality competition. While I think their rebounding improves with Kawhi, I still see this as an area of need. Kawhi has the potential to elevate their offense in so many ways; I’m not expecting a top-tier offense, but it should be much better. Regarding their ability to match up with better competition, I would say this; Between their impressive playoff run and Kawhi’s winning presence, there should be a greater sense of belief that will be necessary to get over that hump. I am looking forward to seeing how that pans out
** Regarding the trade cost, my initial thought was that it was a pretty steep overpay. However, with the revelation that BI’s surgery uncovered more serious health issues, I no longer believe that. Between getting off of the BI/Gradey money and adding a superstar talent, this price seems very reasonable for both franchises.
** I don’t have much to write about Kyle Anderson and Allen Graves. I have faith that SlowMo will provide quality veteran play and leadership, perhaps helping to paper over the loss of Mamu in some ways. I liked what I saw from Graves in Summer League, particularly his sticky hands on both ends, his defensive presence/awareness, his three-point shooting and willingness to attack off the dribble. If that can translate to real NBA competition (a HUGE ‘if’), he can go a long way towards filling in the void left by Mamu.
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