We don’t know that, and I’m not buying it, most franchises trade players for the best package of assets not for fear they might have to play the player 2 extra times a year out of 82 games.
In a nutshell, DeRozan scores more (100 more points in 200 fewer minutes) and is a more efficient scorer (TS% = .555 vs. .536). He also gets more assists (AST% = 25.0 vs. 15.8). I was surprised there wasn't a larger difference in USG% (29.6 vs. 26.5) given that DeRozan was his team's No. 1 option AND that assists and TOVs also factor into USG% and DeRozan gets more of both. Then I looked at PER36 numbers and see that both players are very close in FGA/36 (18.8 vs. 18.5). Defensively, they are a wash. Seriously, all of their defensive stats, both basic and advanced are VERY close. DeRozan, due to his more efficient scoring and higher AST%, wins most of the advanced stats (PER: 21.0 vs. 17.0, WS: 9.6 vs. 6.6, WS/48: 1.70 vs. 1.08, ORtg: 114 vs 108, BPM: 1.8 vs. 0.4, VORP: 2.6 vs. 1.8) In short, DeRozan is a better player, both more productive and more efficient. And, he put up those numbers as the No.1 option on the No.1 team in the East. As a No. 1 option and a 4 time all star, other teams would have specifically game planned to stop him. While being the No., 1 option usually means more scoring opportunities, I was very surprised to see how close the FGA/36 were. Given DeRozan's style of play, I always considered him more of an ISO player, but he actually gets a lot more assists than C.J. So, SAS got the better player AND they shipped Kawhi East, which was another of their clearly stated goals. Unless we were willing to offer Dame, we never had a chance. BNM
And if they really wanted to screw Kawhi they would have kept him in the West with zero chance at making the finals, now he has a much easier route to the finals next year.
Yeah, because the regular season is so important. Or maybe, they don't want the franchise player they just traded to come back and kick their asses in the playoffs. Can you imagine the outcry of trading your franchise player to an in conference foe, only to have that foe eliminate you in the first round of the playoffs? I think that's a much bigger concern than those two extra regular season games. BNM
That and seeding. Trade him to another Western Conference team and watch them become better than you dropping SA from 4th to 5th in playoff positioning. There are several ways it could have a negative impact to trade that good of a player to the same conference.
Assuming they make the playoffs, which isn’t anywhere close to a guarantee after their losses this offseason.
And is exactly my point. Why trade him to an in conference team who might just knock you out of the playoffs with seeding?
It's been common knowledge for months: https://bleacherreport.com/articles...-gregg-popovich-prefers-move-to-teams-in-east
The only stat that matters for DeRozen is his garbage 3 point shooting percentage. Not many GMs are willing to build around a SG that is going to be 29 when the season starts and shoots 31% from the arc. In 3 years he'll have less bounce and no long-distance shot to fall back on while making near 30 million. This is a bad deal for the Spurs to avoid a rebuild under Pop's watch. They will turn this mess of a roster over to another coach in 3 years to start the tank.
Because no one in the West besides GS will make the finals from the west anyway. It’s a good time to rebuild.
Prefers can be.. okay... give me DAME and CJ.. otherwise.... Come on now... stop playing with the symantics.
I fundamentally will always disagree with trading a player that wants to be here for a player that is more than likely a one year rental. Especially in today's NBA climate where a hypothetical Kawai for CJ swap still doesn't get us close to GS. Bide time. That's all we have. Sorry. Neal knows this, FYI.
Zach Lowe brings up something most of us hadn't thought of: "If Toronto gets the sense by Thanksgiving that Leonard is leaving regardless, it can try to flip him to the Lakers or Clippers. The Raptors won't make themselves whole in such a deal, but they could recoup enough of what they traded as to make today's move almost risk-free." http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/24128608/zach-lowe-kawhi-leonard-trade-spurs-raptors-nba