Doug Smith: Raptors mailbag: Will Kawhi Leonard be suspended? Here’s what I think the NBA will do

admin-cdn9 hours ago

0 0 10 minutes read

Doug Smith: Raptors mailbag: Will Kawhi Leonard be suspended? Here’s what I think the NBA will do

Another good week here, yet more misinformation and misconstruction of the Kawhi Leonard situation and in the name of whatever deity you believe in, please let this whole thing be over soon.

One of the rule experiments to be used in Summer League was the one-foul-shot rule. I personally think it’s a ridiculous rule, as foul shooting has always been an integral part of the game; shooting all the shots, that is.

My question is, as you were on site, did you feel that the rule change gained any traction, is it hard to say or hopefully it will just go away? What are your thoughts from what you have seen or heard?

Thanks and have a good one.

I hate it. Hated it in Summer League, hate it the few times I saw it at 905 games here, will hate it until the end of days.

I think it screws too much with the fabric of the game, it has no discernible impact on the length of a game and all it does, to me, is trick-up a game for no reason.

Four teams, years of near-misses and a record 53-point game later, Marina Mabrey has found her home in Toronto.

I didn’t get a chance to ask many execs in Vegas, but one team’s NBA pro scout called it an “abomination” when we were watching a game and I cannot for the life of me think the league will implement it into NBA games.

Hi, Doug. First-time questioner here.

My question is about the Raptors. Given how poorly the Blue Jays have fared this season compared to expectations, and the recent comments from Kevin Gausman about how “they’re not as close a group” as last season and that it’s possibly contributing to their performance, do you see any similar situation happening with the Raptors?

There were several articles I read last season about how well Brandon Ingram fit in, how he had no ego and really helped with the younger guys, and how Gradey Dick was still upbeat and working hard even though he had a tough year.

Remembering things like that makes me wonder if trading for Kawhi Leonard will have the desired effect. We know he has an ego, although not as big as other league stars who will remain nameless here.

There’s a lot to be said about the connection between team chemistry and success.

Interested to hear your thoughts as someone who obviously has more access to the team than I do!

Here’s my short take on chemistry and its impact.

While it’s nice that everyone on a team gets along, what fosters good relationships is winning. Pure and simple.

Maybe it’s a chicken-and-egg thing. Maybe the Blue Jays were one big happy family last season because they won a lot, or maybe they won a lot because they all got along. I tend to think it’s the former, and maybe that’s been shown to be a bit true this season.

So regardless of personalities or relationships or what have you, if the Raptors — or any team — wins more than it loses, there won’t be concerns about locker-room harmony.

Do you have an opinion on MLS’s decision to move to a fall/spring season, concurring with the rest of the world?

I probably would have handled the Reese-Bueckers bet the same way the WNBA did: frown, make a statement, no extra discipline and move on.

I think it makes sense for MLS to match the world in the same international window process so it doesn’t disrupt their season so much. But with so many northern teams it’s going to be weather-related schedule horror show, and I don’t know how fair they’re going to be able to make it without extended weeks of road or even home games.

Dear Doug. I have enjoyed your take on the Raptors for years. Thanks very much.

I have been surprised that the Kawhi/Clippers coverage generally sees Kawhi as a victim, while the Clippers or his financial advisers are the villains who need to be punished most severely. However, the affair began with his demand for extra off-the-books payment. His name must be on the contract. The money must have flowed into his bank accounts. Despite perhaps questionable advice, he is at the centre of the whole thing.

The anxiety level in Toronto rises after a report suggests the Clippers-Leonard investigation could drag into 2027.

This is very different from the Joe Smith situation. In that case, the ask to bend the rules came from the team: he acquiesced to their request to backload a secret contract over a term which included both Bird rights years and not. It seems to me that the more rational comparison is with Jontay Porter, a case where a player knowingly contravened the rules for their own personal benefit. I think the league has to send a message to the players that this is not acceptable. I expect both a significant suspension and a voiding of the contract to assure that he suffers a financial penalty at least as large as the secret payoff. Otherwise he gets paid during the suspension while still pocketing the extra disallowed payoff.

I expect to be proven wrong here as I seem to be in a minority on one, but if the punishment is just a slap on the wrist the league risks looking like it has one rule for the super-rich, super-talented superstars and another which they can use to make an example of journeymen like Porter.

Thanks for letting me vent. Please let me know where I have gone astray.

I don’t think anyone sees Kawhi as a victim, but this level of culpability is certainly debatable to me.

And there is every chance Leonard will be made to give back some of the Aspiration money in the end, so maybe his payoff isn’t what we think.

Smith’s mistake, and his agent’s, was having a signed document; Porter and others messed with the very heart of competition and need to be banned. Those are truly apples and oranges compared to Leonard.

Dear Mr. Smith. Hope this finds you in good health.

LeBron’s Friday announcement was a surprise and a welcome jolt, but the loaded Sixers still face a long list of challenges.

Why is so much of the reporting about what the Blue Jays should do coming up to the trade deadline while ignoring that there is going to be a lockout/strike over a salary cap?

This reminds me of the reporting that happened when the NHL had their lockout with reporters pretending the salary cap/floor wasn’t going to happen.

I’m pretty sure Edward Rogers has told them to make sure that at the end of the season the salary payroll is only X amount (maybe $170 million U.S.) to set up for signing players who will be free agents after the lockout ends. So the team is not caught in things like the Raptors are right now, where they don’t really have any cap space. I find this particularly on the Jays broadcast and on Sportsnet 590 The FAN’s afternoon show.

I know it’s boring, as one of the reasons I stopped following hockey was because a player’s worth became all about his contract as opposed to if a player is good.

I agree that there’s a better-than-average chance of a work stoppage in baseball of some duration, but it’s not like they’re going to come back to cheaper contracts, so I’m not sure how that factors into any trades this week other than the annual wish of some losing teams to pare costs.

Happy long weekend, Doug! Hopefully no breaking news requiring travel for you! Rest? Recover? At least exhale!

1) Worst-case scenario: Kawhi is unavailable. Who does GM Doug have as starting five? Your next five off the bench?

2) Are the Thunder still a force to be reckoned with, or has the championship window closed? Which Western teams are the biggest threat to the Spurs?

3) Same question, but the Celtics in the East. Which teams should the Knicks be worried about?

4) Follow up to both questions: Which teams have suddenly become non-contenders? Any more buzz left for the Hornets?

Bonus question: Do you think LeBron James will start a trend of stars willing to settle for league minimum, or does that depend on how successful he is this post-season?

It was a nice quiet week, thanks. Here’s hoping for another one.

The Raptors’ 19th overall pick has impressed at NBA Summer League — and not just for the standout numbers he’s produced on the court.

If the Leonard trade doesn’t go through — and I am still sure it will — they’d start the same group as last year: Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram and Jakob Poeltl, with Jamal Shead, Ja’Kobe Walter, Collin Murray-Boyles, maybe Kyle Anderson, perhaps Jamison Battle and possibly Allen Graves off the bench.

The Thunder are a little lessened by the loss of Luguentz Dort and Aaron Wiggins, but as long as they have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, they’re a force. So yeah, them and Houston, perhaps Minnesota and maybe Denver are threats.

The East? Philly’s the flavour of the week. I don’t think Boston’s a major factor and maybe Cleveland can figure it out (I doubt it), but do not sleep on Indiana.

Depending on what happens with Jalen Duren, I suspect Detroit takes a big step back, as does Minnesota. And I have no clue what the Lakers will ultimately look like, but I don’t think it’ll be good.

I think LeBron is one of one, but he’s also 42 so playing for the vet minimum is logical. I don’t suspect he starts a trend, though.

When Raptors GM Bobby Webster traded for Kawhi Leonard, he knew, just like all of us, about the NBA investigation into Leonard, his representation and the Clippers ownership. We all knew the outline of the story. We all understand Clippers owner Steve Ballmer wanted a championship and had the bank account to make it happen. We all understand the Leonard camp approached the Clippers, as well as the Raptors and Lakers, about getting more than was allowed by the collective bargaining agreement. We all understand the Leonard camp wanted these teams to think creatively — to find a way to get Leonard more — including looking at a percentage of sports team ownership.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver apparently warned Webster and the Raptors. My question: Why was it necessary to warn the Raptors? They knew more than enough to know there was a potential penalty coming to Leonard. Webster is not a stupid man by any means. He knew going into the trade there could be pending consequences for Leonard. He made the trade anyway. He didn’t need a warning for this. The warning must have included new information. That new information may or may not be what journalist Pablo Torre is yakking on and on and on about right now — or maybe it’s something else. But this new information caused Webster to pause the trade — not end it, just pause it. Webster must be seeing additional risk in extra punishment for Leonard.

There’s one legacy counting stat that the NBA’s all-time leader in games played and points would happily fluff before he retires.

So, let’s imagine possible punishment that would put this trade on hold from the Raptors side of things. I’m assuming if it were just a 10-game suspension, the trade would still happen and would have happened officially by now. If 10 games were the max — even 20 — I think the trade would happen. What do you do, though, if it’s 40 games, or 82 games? What if it is beyond 82 games?

A real question: Can the teams put conditions on the trade based on what the penalty might be? Can they agree that if the suspension is beyond 30 games, say, the Raptors get one (or both) of the draft picks back? Is this an option open to us?

The one true fear here is a lifetime or indefinite ban. I don’t know if that’s even possible here. But in many ways, the allegation here is far more serious than what Jontay Porter did. And frankly, Porter cuts as a more sympathetic character — we can only begin to imagine the constant pressures he was under from the constant threats to find a way to pay his foolish debts.

So, do you think Leonard is facing an indefinite ban here?

Going full circle: Why did the NBA need to warn the Raptors here, unless there was new information they gave them? Webster didn’t walk away from the trade, just put it on pause. We can read into this, too? Can we put a condition on those draft choices based on the strength of the penalty Leonard faces? Can Leonard be facing an indefinite ban?

So much to unpack, again.

And for about the zillionth time, the Raptors and Clippers were not “warned” about anything, as I reported weeks ago. When presented with the legal, binding responsibilities of a possible trade, both teams decided to pause. Not because they knew what was coming, not because they were “warned” but because they felt it prudent. Pure and simple and sensibly.

What I think is this: The Clippers will be penalized, and there are back-channel discussions on the severity of that penalty going on now. Leonard’s agent of record at the time will be banned for life. Leonard will not be suspended, but he will be made to return some of the money. Life will go on.

Readers have questions about Philadelphia adding King James, and the stalled Kawhi Leonard deal in this week’s mailbag.

As for the trade proposal, it hasn’t been put in place nor presented to the league for approval. So yes, any part of it can be renegotiated at any time up until they go to the league for the transaction to be registered.

The major flaw in your point (and you’re not alone in missing the point) is saying that the league told the teams to hold off. At that point, the NBA had no idea what the law firm would recommend. The investigation had nothing to do with the league office, so Adam Silver had no knowledge to pass on to the teams. Somehow everyone’s missing that, and I cannot for the life of me know why.

One more apples and oranges: This is NOT the 2019 contract. The contract around the Aspiration side deal HAS NOTHING to do with Toronto.

Opinion articles are based on the author’s interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details

admin-cdn9 hours ago

0 0 10 minutes read