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Big CatBig Cat

Kawhi Leonard is a top five NBA player when healthy

Kawhi is, if he's healthy, which I assume he is, is a top five NBA player. And now you have one of the best defenses in the NBA.

Kawhi Leonard won Finals MVP the following season, proving he was still at a top-five level when healthy.

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Win
Jul 20, 2018
#10786
Big CatBig Cat

I like the Kawhi Leonard trade for the Raptors because their old core wasn't working

I actually like this move for the Raptors because you couldn't, after you lose to LeBron 4-0 in your best season in franchise history... And everyone says these guys are a mental mess. DeMar DeRozan didn't even play in game three in crunch time. You need to do something different.

The Raptors went on to win the NBA championship in 2019 with Kawhi Leonard, making this take extremely prescient.
Void
Jul 20, 2018
#24605
Big CatBig Cat

The Spurs got the worst part of the Kawhi Leonard trade

The Spurs probably got the worst part of this trade because DeMar DeRozan, okay, he's a nice player, but he's obviously not Kawhi, and you didn't get top draft picks, and you had to give up Danny Green, too.

Subjective value of a trade, though the Raptors won a title immediately and the Spurs entered a slow decline, so this is widely considered correct in hindsight.
Win
Jul 20, 2018
#24606
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The Lakers are smart to not overextend for Kawhi Leonard in 2018

It's a smart move by the Lakers to be like, we're not going to overextend for 2019. We're not going to trade our young guys when everyone's going to be a free agent next year.

The Lakers eventually traded those young guys (Lonzo, Ingram) for Anthony Davis in 2019 and won a title in 2020, justifying the patience for a bigger star.

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Void
Big CatBig Cat

The Brewers' pressure created their 'lucky' breaks

That's not luck. That's just the Brewers and what they did to you mentally, where it's like you have to be perfect and almost made teams just become a worse version of themselves because of what the Brewers were doing to them.

This is an evaluative baseball argument rather than a claim with one definitive result.
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Big CatBig Cat

The Bears are building around Jeffrey Simmons correctly

Jeffrey Simmons is an absolute game wrecker. Top three at his position, changes everyone around him. The Bears had a weakness in their defense, especially run defense. They made it a strength.

The assessment of Simmons' impact and positional ranking is partly subjective and will depend on his Chicago performance.
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Big CatBig Cat

Jeffrey Simmons makes the Bears Super Bowl contenders

I thought they could win the Super Bowl before Jeffrey Simmons. Now I really do.

The 2026 NFL season and Super Bowl outcome have not yet been resolved from the episode date.