Writer of Basketball | https://xitter.cf/t.co/rxP2z1V7qB | https://xitter.cf/t.co/wN10PQn4xr | All the Power to Land Defenders
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Joined October 2014
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GentleWatch retweeted
Against all odds, Kawhi Leonard is a Toronto Raptor once again.
I wrote about Leonard's one-of-a-kind career and how Raptors fans feel about his very complicated return to the city he once spurned:
A bit misleading. This is about Jak AND RJ. I doooo think Sabonis and Scottie is absolute magic. But RJ proved to be a playoff-performer and is the high-volume, regular-season scorer the Raptors need while Kawhi "load manages". Assuming Jak's healthy, he's good. NO TRADE for me.
A reminder that I'm pretty sure the Raptors calculated this outcome all along and knew it and that's why they did the trade when they did. Kawhi exculpated of any wrongdoing would be a hot commodity on the trade market right meow.
raptorsrepublic.com/2026/07/…
All-time lowest total team dribbles in NBA history
Heat potential depth chart:
PG - Mitchell, Smith
SG - Thompson, Hardaway Jr., Conwell
SF - Wiggins, Larsson, Gardner
PF - Giannis, Jovic, Fontecchio
C - Adebayo, Portis
Fifth-best odds to win the East.
play.underdogsports.com/vgwg…
The NBA and ESPN share a similar story of how billion dollar companies slowly and greedily eat their faces until nothing's left. Bullshit, calorie-less content for short-term gains and inflated value progressively rotten them to worthlessness.
theguardian.com/sport/2026/a…
A poetic from Pina. Agree or not with the thesis, it’s a joyous read.
The Pistons won 60 games, then decided their formula wasn’t good enough. @MichaelVPina on Detroit’s bold attempt to reinvent itself:
theringer.com/2026/08/18/nba…
GentleWatch retweeted
New opinion for @globeandmail: On the demise of hockey and whether soccer has what it takes to conquer Canadian sports culture — or does basketball get there first?
I think I figured out what the Toronto Raptors were up to.
And it's a lot more devious than they let on.
raptorsrepublic.com/2026/07/…
I hate that this dominates NBA discourse - and really have for the bulk of LBJ's career. Buttttt Minnesota and Denver are, BY FAR - in fit and hoops joy - the best places for LBJ to go.
wrote about why lebron should choose denver: theringer.com/2026/07/13/nba…
Man, League leadership is so poor. How do they not freeze all and any transactions with Kawhi Leonard - or for that matter anyone else under investigation - until completed. My guess: NBA would rather feed off the trade/FA drama and deal with the repercussions/legalities later.
Developing: The Los Angeles Clippers-Toronto Raptors trade centered on Kawhi Leonard will not be complete until the NBA investigation into the Clippers is over. Statement from the Clippers to ESPN:
For the past 10 months, our organization has fully cooperated with an NBA investigation, participating in dozens of interviews, providing tens of thousands of documents, and facilitating access to our staff. While the process has been challenging, we have remained committed to transparency.
On June 30, we reached an agreement in principle to trade Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors. We have since been informed that the trade can only be finalized if the Raptors' ownership group assumes the risk of penalties related to Kawhi’s contract that could theoretically result from the ongoing investigation. The investigation is ongoing, and we expect the trade to be finalized following its conclusion.
At the heart of this investigation are Joe Sanberg and Aspiration. We did not funnel money to Kawhi Leonard through Aspiration. Like many sophisticated investors, financial institutions, and business partners, we were victims of a fraud initiated by Sanberg, who has been convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
We recognize the uncertainty this has created and the impact it has had on our team, our fans, the Raptors organization, their fans, and the players whose futures remain affected while this process continues.
We remain confident that, when the facts are evaluated fairly and thoroughly, the NBA will confirm exactly what we have said from the beginning: We have not done what we are accused of doing.
Just had to say aspiration. Kyle never not instigating.
Will be interesting to see how Toronto measures Kawhi’s minutes. They must load manage him for this to work. But I’m not sure Raps win a lot of games without a primary scorer. Unlike Kawhi Round 1, this core 4 is unproven and will need to make a major leap to be competitive.
I’ve been of the same suspicion. It feels like Kawhi saw the market dry up and is just going with/saying what’s going to get him paid the most. His classic MO. That said, if in spite of it he plays 50+ games. Whatevs. Too tantalizing a possibility.
For disappointed Raptors fans, I think Jamison Battle’s size and athleticism makes him the better “shooter” role option.
Trade summary, via @ShamsCharania:
Pistons get - Isaiah Joe
Thunder get - 2 second-round picks
Jak had a bad year. The new contract was not necessary. All true. He’s also a very good player when healthy and shouldn’t be the guy we dump.
These are sweet
Gonna thread all the short pitches on prospects we got from guests during the draft cycle, feat. @jkylemann @dlee4three @bjpf_ @ChuckingDarts @TheDropStepNBA @ManTheyCallMac @Pullup_Tre
watch at your leisure
I love what they’ve done so much. Perfect expression of raw euphoric fan energy.
🗣️ "BING BONG!"
Knicks fans' pandemonium has taken over social media.
In an exclusive with The Athletic, @sidetalknyc creator @trentsimonian speaks for the first time about how they create their viral videos.
Just so we're clear.
One can argue with media votes - right or wrong is ultimately subjective. That's the beauty of sport and excellence and fandom.
Media ARE NOT, however, compelled to vote for their home players. That's not how media or this process works. Nor should it.
Toronto Star’s @SmithRaps voted CHET over Scottie for All NBA 2nd team. Doug also voted for MAXIME RAYNAUD over CMB for All Rookie 1st team💀
Toronto Sun’s @WolstatSun voted Jamal Murray over Scottie for All NBA 2nd team.
At least they both voted Scottie for All Defence 1st team but still VERY questionable chooses, especially Doug’s.
This one's fully on Coach Atkinson. Wade/Strus on the bench (Strus comes in with 1:45 left and hits a 3) while Harden/Merrill eaten up in 4Q/OT. Even Schroder might've helped against Brunson and with scoring. Then, Mitchell disappears. His 3Q usage (42%) drops 24%/18% in 4th/OT.
