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Not much news around the college basketball landscape, but with free agency abound, the NBA has hadn’t folks buzzing. It’s only a matter of time till we have major news about NBA stars Zhaire Smith, Keenan Evans, and Zach Smith but for now, what’s going on with the local teams?
Kawhi Leonard is off to Canada
To the dismay of many, perhaps even Kawhi himself, the Spurs and Toronto Raptors made a deal for the super star. Even more stunning though, is DeMar DeRozan is being shipped off by Toronto as part of the deal.
DeRozan has been a true franchise player, and he seemed to have reacted quite poorly to the news. Raptors’ fans were also none too pleased with the deal, but Kawhi is one of the best in the league and will hopefully appease them soon. That is, if he actually plays for them.
Carmelo Anthony is moving on as well
Carmelo was not good in OKC, and they are ready to move on from that experiment. The three-way trade between the Hawks, Sixers’, and Thunder has Anthony going to Atlanta.
Maybe he can get his mojo back and impress, but it seems like it won’t be for the hawks as buyout talks have already begun.
Should players have more control over where they are traded?
Kawhi is reportedly unhappy, DeRozan is pretty openly unhappy, and the NBA world seems to support their anger. So the question is, should a clause allow NBA players to review potential trade be in every contract?
I’m not saying we give every player veto power. But unhappy players will play worse. Perhaps all of these situations could be resolved if players did not feel absolutely blind-sided.
A review would give them a chance to voice their opinion, and bare minimum would force teams to communicate. That would likely cut out much of the hurt feelings that develop, and would give players more time to get their affairs in order.
Plus, their future owners could find out how good the fit really would be. Locker room drama is not what any team needs, and a unhappy super star is sure to cause some drama.
What do you all think?