The middle paragraph is the money quote. Riverman didn't say that that's from the OP's ESPN article. So I'm noting it now for posterity (after having to look it up).
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23295190/kawhi-leonard-trades-see-san-antonio-spurs-make-nba Portland seen as one of the 7 trade partners the "NBA Insiders" deem Kawhi Leonard possibly going to... This would be interesting...
Yay, trade CJ and a draft pick for a guy who wouldnt make us a contender (we need 3 star level players), and would leave after a year!
A team with C.J., a draft pick, and no Kawhi is better than a team with no C.J., no draft pick, and no Kawhi. We need to build with 2020 in mind.
WARNING!!! Nobody wants to be in Portland, Why make trades if there just going to leave? Why even fucking try?
Not at all, as usual, you avoid context. Kawhi's only leaving San Antonio if he wants out. The reasons would be to play in a big market (and maybe in California, where he's from), and/or to play for a contender. Portland couldn't offer that. Portland couldn't offer anything San Antonio couldn't. So given what he values, and the context of the situation, why would he not want to be in San Antonio and would prefer Portland instead?
Ooh, well I'm not sure if staying with the current team will lead them to being good in 2020. I'm not sure what that will take. IF Kawhi is healthy and re-signs, would you like the trade? It's as likely to happen as LeBron coming here, so it's mostly just hot air at this point.
Yes, I would love the trade if Kawhi was healthy and re-signed. However, he wouldn't re-sign. So I wouldn't like the trade.
I don't get this statement Bones...San Antonio is a small market...he had a problem with Pops style of coaching and practice scheduling...since Duncan left he's obviously not pleased with the team....even though you're no fan...Stotts is a players coach...Portland has a unified culture of players that like it here....as someone said....you don't know what motivates Leonard at all anymore than BGD or I do....what I do know is he's shown a desire for a change of NBA scenery. Portland is on the rise....San Antonio is in slight decline and ageing fast....even Lamarcus wanted out of the place last summer...their best players are way past their primes...I wouldn't sell Portland short as a destination that's attractive to players anymore. That stigma died with Raymond Felton and Luke Babbitt
I heard a radio interview with a couple NBA players last week and they were saying that the idea players won’t come to Portland isn’t really true. They basically saying FA’s go basically where they think they can win and where there family is happy. The point they were trying to make was that Portland and other “smaller” markets can get FA’s and that every player is going to make their decisions differently. They were talking about the stigma, that a “rich young black guy”, won’t go to a small market because it doesn’t have the nightlife or whatever is a stupid stereotype, not every NBA player spends there time in clubs. Every market will have swings and misses, because it’s about finding guys that fit with the market you’re in. I realize Portland hasn’t been a high priority landing point, but I think they were pretty much dead on, players are ultimately people and all of them are different and will value different things. There are players that come to Portland and fall in love and there are players who don’t want to come here or be here.
Exactly. Many of them live elsewhere in the off season anyway and during the season they are either playing games at home or traveling on the road so nightlife is whatever city you are in that night if you want it.
You ask the players who played for the Blazers (and weren't dipshits like Felton) and they almost all loved playing in Portland. It's just that the team isn't a winner.
I can remember when Golden State and Cleveland were both bad teams for many years. Nobody wanted to go to either franchise ….
