The Toronto Raptors took a major swing for the fences by trading DeMar DeRozan for star forward Kawhi Leonard, one that comes with a huge risk at hand. Leonard has given no assurance of his willingness to re-sign with the team, and the state of his health is unclear after playing in only nine games last season thanks to a mysterious quad injury.
Yet president Masai Ujiri, who spearheaded the move, felt there was a sense of urgency in hopes to reach the NBA Finals with a hollowed out Eastern Conference without LeBron James after he signed a four-year, $154 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Via RealGM:
“There's no question this deal comes with great risk for Toronto,” said ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. “In the end, they didn't feel like they were good enough with the team they had to beat Boston, maybe even beat Philly.”
The East is considered to be wide open for the next taker now that the reign of terror of the Cleveland Cavaliers has come to an end. Teams like the Raptors, Celtics and Sixers will try to take over that throne.
Trading for Leonard, a top-five star in the league when healthy, could propel the Raptors to greater heights, pairing Kyle Lowry with an improved shooter, scorer and defender to give this roster better immediate chances to challenge for control of the East.
This could prove to be a one-year rental, though, with zero guarantee that Leonard will stick around after next season — though winning has been known to persuade a mind or two.
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