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The Raptors are your 2019 NBA Champions. After the Philadelphia 76ers took them down to the wire and the Milwaukee Bucks nearly buried them after going up 2-0, Kawhi Leonard and company bested an injury-ridden but very capable dynasty to win the franchise’s first NBA title. This league, man.
The Raptors organization had to make some difficult and publicly opposed moves to reach their destiny (and most importantly, their father, LeBron James, took himself out of contention), but the risk was handsomely rewarded. Who would have thought? Well, in hindsight, not many people. Myself included!
A fun game is to look back at all the pundits, talking heads and Twitter eggs declaring the DeRozan-for-Kawhi trade to be the worst thing to happen to Canada since the maple syrup shortage of 1937. Below, I’ve compiled some of the most prideful, hard-headed takes as evidence that none of us really know what the fuck we’re talking about. Enjoy.
— Blake Parker (@bptml7) July 19, 2018
I love Kawhi, but this is a bad move. Kyle is going to be unhappy with out DeMar and thus less motivated. Same goes for Siakam without Jakob. Friendships matter especially for such a close knit team… yes they are professionals, but they are also human!
— Arazig Hass (@ArazTantig) July 18, 2018
ONE year rental LOL . And did u have to slap derozan in the face on the way out? No ones gonna ever come here again after what u did to derozan. Raptors gonna be craptors after this year for a while. No more for me thank you . #GoleafsGo #leafsnation
— D Dragon (@TheseRGoodStuff) July 18, 2018
Spurs are big winners in this trade. Kawhi did them dirty, making the best of a bad situation. They manage to send Kawhi somewhere he doesn’t want to go, and get a very good player in return.
— Jonathan Zaslow (@ZaslowShow) July 18, 2018
With so much uncertainty looming this offseason, the breeding grounds for more awful takes is fertile. And I, for one, cannot wait to expose them.