So if the reports are true, that the Clippers arranged to pay Kawhi an extra $40mil(!) - another salary basically - even though he didn't have to do jackshit to earn that money, then I have two questions. Number one, why would a player want to walk away from a sweet situation like that? And number two, after making such an investment, why would the organization want him to go?
If or when punishments are handed down, I hope the NBA isn't too hard on Kawhi, in terms of like suspending him and shit. Funny how you don't hear the NBPA releasing statements related to this case. Maybe in circumventing his salary or whatever, Leonard gypped them out of a cut.
Also at this point, what I'm actually hoping is that he just stays with the Clippers. That'll teach him a lesson. And I mean, if the goal is parity, trading Kawhi and in the process making the Raptors really good while LAC gets even worse isn't the way to achieve it.
Of course, I can't see the future. But what the Clippers are trying to do, in terms of roster construction, is kinda weird. This is the curse of being too bad to be good yet too good to be bad.
Instead of fruitlessly trying to compete without Kawhi, they might as well go full rebuild and hope for the best. Meanwhile, if they are forced to keep him, I mean the offseason is practically over. But if Ballmer and co. still have money to spend, might as well go after DeRozan and Kuminga, i.e. the two best noncommitted free agents left. And if the Clippers are reluctant to acquire them because of tax concerns, I mean obviously they know how to quote/unquote 'handle' those types of situations.
If Kawhi is eventually forced to stick around, then might as well put him in the best situation possible to win. And you never know. A full season with him as the undisputed alpha may pay off better than those failed superteam experiments of the last few years.
THE INDECISIONS
I don't know if it's just me, but starting with that whole Lebron fiasco, it feels like dudes are intentionally taking longer to make their decisions, deadass exercising their patience. In the meantime, I can't write my predictions or rate the offseason because first of all, if DeRozan does land on a contender, chances are he's going to make a major impact. And now that I think about it, it kinda surprises me that the Pistons haven't gotten in the conversation, but they seem to actually prefer chasing C-listers and shit.
I used to be really big Jonathan Kuminga, someone I viewed as having been underappreciated by the Warriors. Now looking back, there's absolutely no reason Golden State shouldn't have kept him, because they need all the quality help they can get, and he's definitely better than any of the other non-star currently on their roster.
Also, it looks like a situation whereas Kuminga may never perform as well as he did on the team that drafted him. Sometimes, it's like that. A team needs a certain player just as much as a certain player needs a particular team. Jonathan may not have been the future of the Warriors in and of himself, but then again, neither is Draymond, who just scored a major loyalty contract. Oh well. The current GSW braintrust may undervalue youth, but at least they treat a couple of proven dudes they drafted over a decade ago really well.
If Bradley Beal ends up on the Celtics or Heat and is actually healthy type shit, he'll also make a difference. But I'm having a hard time picturing both him and PG13 on the floor at the same time, trying to play defense. The best defense is a good offense?
THE FOOLISH KING
And then there's the ScapeGOAT who, I mean idk what else to say. Lebron is about get paid, what, $9mil, while the Beard, a lesser player all things considered, is prolly going to end up with another $100mil-ish contract.
Westbrook, who stat-wise is better than 90% of the players in the NBA, doesn't have a contract. Meanwhile his former partner in crime, KD, demands a max salary, even though he never accomplished anything Russ hasn't besides excelling on a team that was already poised to win without him.
But I'm not trying to minimize KD's accomplishments, because it's not like a superstar joining a contender always works. And the results may not have been the same for the Warriors if, say, they had gotten Westbrook instead of Durant. So I figure that Russ must really be that difficult to control, like they say, to have fallen off like this.
In the past, I was sorta like it's the coaching staffs' fault for not being able to reign him in. But now, I sympathize with anyone who may be stuck with a subordinate - so to speak - who's an A-hole, if that is in fact the case. But I don't necessarily believe that. I believe that the ScapeGOAT may actually be too complete of a player, in and of himself, to play 5-on-5 basketball.
But that said, the Kings are just about as ass-backwards as an organization can be. For instance, even if it was the Bulls who gave LaVine that ridiculous contract, why would you be dumb enough to pick it up? That shit was questionable from the time it was signed. And if you don't believe me, dig through this blog and find what I postulated back then, that basically, Chicago gave Zach all of that money moreso for his marketability than productivity per se. Meanwhile, those types of Haliburton gambles don't always pay off
Also, when have you ever heard of an organization putting their "future" in the hands of a rookie PG, who has yet to play an NBA game, that was drafted all the way down at #5? I mean I'm not sleeping on dude, but come on. Have we learned nothing from the faith put in the likes of Telfair and Scoot? What about Fultz? C'mon, dudes.
Again, I'm not sleeping of Darius Acuff. But I mean yeah, generally speaking, I can't say off the top of my head I ever seen the media bigup a #5 pick like this, regardless of position. That's how bad everyone wants Sacramento to finally take a step forward or at least look like they know what they're doing.
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