After a big-name star joins a contract, there is a trading market. Most of the trading market this summer is small fish and shrimps, which did not cause much noise until Leonard's deal was completed!
On July 18, 2018, the Spurs traded Leonard and Danny Green for DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and a protected first-round pick in 2019 (top 20 pick).
protection). The Spurs then used this first-round pick to select Keldon Johnson.
The deal shocked the entire league.
The Spurs are too tough!
Leonard is also tough!
Menglong really dares to bet!
Before Leonard was seriously injured, he averaged 25.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.8 steals, and a shooting percentage of 48.5%. Three-point shooting percentage was 38%, and free throw shooting percentage was 88%. Data
It's still pretty good, especially since he has top-notch defense, which makes him very powerful among superstars.
If compared with Durant, James, and Curry, Leonard's scoring ability and organizational ability are still a little worse, but if you consider defense, Leonard is not much different from these guys.
Therefore, the Spurs are very reluctant to send Leonard away.
If the Spurs were given a chance to choose, they would definitely not bring the relationship between the two parties to such an extent.
Leonard suffered a season-ending injury in last year's Western Conference Finals, and the Spurs lost to the Warriors. The injury meant Leonard didn't return to the court until December 2017.
In the 17-18 season, Leonard returned from serious injury and averaged 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 23.4 minutes per game. However, this season, Leonard only played 9 games.
Then the accident happened again, and Leonard was injured again.
A few months later, Leonard's personal medical team and the Spurs team doctor gave inconsistent diagnosis results. Leonard believed that the Spurs team doctor's misdiagnosis caused him to lead to this situation. Both sides insisted on their own opinions, and suspicion and mistrust intensified.
Subsequently, the conflict between Leonard and the Spurs continued to escalate. The Spurs were initially unwilling to give Leonard a maximum salary and doubted whether Leonard was faking an injury and whether he could play.
Things are getting a bit dangerous at this point.
Then Parker and other old players questioned Leonard again and kept putting pressure on him, which completely led to a stalemate between the two sides.
Later, Leonard stated that he would enter the free market. After many attempts by Spurs coaches and players, all ended in failure.
In fact, Leonard had already thought about running away:
The first reason is that Leonard's team feels that the Spurs' exposure is low, which is not good for him to make money.
The small ball market is like this, there is nothing we can do about it.
The second reason is that Leonard was rejected by the Spurs when he was seeking a maximum-salary contract extension. Although the Spurs later agreed to give Leonard a maximum-salary contract, Leonard was very dissatisfied.
Superstars all have tempers and have absolute say in the team. The maximum salary should not be considered, but should be offered directly. There is no such thing as the Spurs.
The third reason is that Leonard's team believes that the Spurs team doctors did not consider him more when diagnosing injuries.
This is a statement and an important reason, but only they themselves know the actual facts.
The fourth reason is the pressure of veterans such as Parker. They fanned some players in order to bring Leonard back and put pressure on Leonard. They expressed that they did not understand why Leonard did not play for the team. This resulted in
Later, Leonard's relationship with the team deteriorated further.
There is no way to change things at this point, and the Spurs can only trade for Leonard.
The Spurs entered into negotiations with Leonard at the beginning of the off-season. Leonard expressed that he did not want to attend any games for the Spurs and hoped that the team would trade him. Upon seeing this, the Spurs had no choice but to say they wanted to trade Leonard.
After entering the trade market, Leonard stated that he would not renew his contract unless he went to Los Angeles. Spending a lot of money on Leonard for one year caused many teams to reduce their chips or withdraw directly.
But at his peak, Leonard averaged close to 25+5+4 per game, and his offense and defense were integrated, so his strength should not be underestimated. In the 2016-2017 season, Leonard was selected for the double first team and ranked second in the MVP rankings.
There is no doubt about the star's ability! Therefore, he still aroused the interest of many teams in the league and was robbed by many teams in the league.
The first is the Lakers, who have made several offers.
At that time, James had just joined the Lakers and was in urgent need of help. The Lakers wanted Leonard the most.
The Magic first offered Ball and Ingram for the second place picks and then added several first-round picks, but Popovich was unmoved. Then he added Hart, but Popovich still disagreed. Finally,
The Magic directly offered three young players + Ingram + Kuzma + a first-round pick, but the result was still the same.
To be honest, the Lakers are almost determined to pursue the future, and they are already very sincere, but the Spurs don't want you to let the Lakers get Leonard, and the Lakers can't do anything about it.
Of course, the Spurs not only want to make the Lakers feel uncomfortable, they also want to make Leonard's coming to the Lakers uncomfortable - if you want to go to the Lakers, I won't do what you want!
The Celtics are also quite excited to see Leonard with such a good resource, but everyone knows that Anji is a deceiver. He will not trade with you unless it is a big advantage, just like when he took the bonus in the last year.
Nate and Pierce cheated the Nets.
The Celtics' sincerity was obviously insufficient and they only gave Hayward and Rozier two people.
Hayward suffered a serious injury last season, and it's unclear how he will recover. Rozier is just average, just an average starting point guard.
Compared with the Lakers' chips, the Celtics' chips are much worse!
Popovich wanted to get young Tatum or Brown more, but Ainge obviously couldn't trade these two young people. Popovich also refused without paying any attention to him.
The Cavaliers proposed a plan of Sexton + Osman + Nance Jr. + Clarkson.
The Cavaliers also wanted to come to Leonard, and the offer they made at that time was enough. This was the strongest bargaining chip the Cavaliers could provide. They gave away the team's future and current ability.
But Popovich still didn't agree.
The 76ers also offered Covington + Saric + the first-round pick in 2021. Popovich gave the asking price. You can either give me Fultz + Covington + the first-round pick, or you can take Simon.
It's okay to just change it. Those are the two options.
At that time, the trade value of Simmons was very high, and the 76ers were unwilling to move him. It is unclear when Fultz will recover from Yip syndrome. Under such circumstances, trading Fultz was a good choice, but the 76ers "believed that"
process", and they rejected the Spurs.
It can only be that the 76ers are stupid. Judging from the results of later generations, they are extremely stupid!
In July 2018, Butler rejected a four-year contract extension worth $110 million from the Timberwolves.
On September 20, 2018, Jimmy Butler applied to the Timberwolves for a trade to leave the team.
On November 11, 2018, Jimmy Butler was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers by the Timberwolves.
If the 76ers form a lineup with Leonard, Embiid, and Butler, as long as they stay healthy, they will be unbeatable in the East and it is not an exaggeration to build a dynasty.
The last one to make an offer was Ujiri of the Men's Dragons. He offered the team's core DeRozan + Poeltl + a first-round pick in exchange for Leonard and Danny Green. Popovich took a look at this
The chips are moving.
Poeltl is an inside man with excellent athletic ability. Popovich has always liked the inside man. He can partner with Ade and DeRozan is still good in immediate combat. The team can still make the playoffs.
In the end, the two sides reached a deal, Leonard went to Toronto, and DeRozan went to San Antonio.
