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DeMar DeRozan thinks Raptors would still have won title without Kawhi Leonard trade: ‘I have no doubt in my mind the same outcome would have happened’

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During an appearance on First Take on Wednesday, host Stephen A. Smith noted that LeBron James had been Toronto’s “kryptonite” in previous postseasons and asked DeRozan if he thought he could’ve won a championship with the Raptors after James left the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Los Angeles Lakers. “Yeah, never to discredit those guys––they won it, they deserve it. I finally had gotten to a point where I was happy for them. But for sure, I definitely feel like that. The only person we couldn’t beat was LeBron, that’s just what it was. And I felt, off the year we had before, we just needed one more piece to kind of push over the top, and that piece came to be LeBron going to the West. I didn’t get an opportunity to see what would’ve happened, but the utmost confidence within myself, I have no doubt in my mind the same outcome would have happened.”
Source: Sports Illustrated

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Tas Melas @TasMelas
DeMar DeRozan on how well the Spurs took care of him: “They treated me like I was Tim Duncan”. nytimes.com/athletic/57575… – 8:52 PM
Dave Mason @DeuceMason
DeMar DeRozan dropped a bold prediction on ESPN today.
We discussed: youtube.com/watch?v=9GWoAe… pic.x.com/dep4xvqe67 – 8:19 PM

StatMuse @statmuse
The 2015 DPOY race:
Draymond: Kawhi 🏆:
1.6 SPG 2.3 SPG
1.3 BPG 0.8 BPG
97.1 DRTG 96.4 DRTG
Draymond received more 1st place votes. pic.x.com/ye9nwyeyms – 1:32 PM

Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
From this week ⁦@TheAthletic⁩
How many 30-minute players should the Clippers have next season?
A full breakdown of a full strength 240 minutes
What to look for from the Clippers roster, starting with Kawhi Leonard and James Harden nytimes.com/athletic/57515… – 12:59 PM
Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
DeMar DeRozan opens up about decision to join Kings, free agency process
nbcsports.com/nba/news/demar… – 12:00 PM
Sam Amick @sam_amick
DeMar DeRozan Unplugged: On his (wonderful) new book, why he chose to be so vulnerable for the sake of the mental health cause, and all sorts of fascinating Spurs/Lakers/Clippers subplots from his summer that landed him in Sacramento, at @TheAthletic
nytimes.com/athletic/57575… – 10:55 AM
Julia Poe @byjuliapoe
Super-sized Chicago basketball report this week featuring:
🖋 Training camp contracts for THT and E.J. Liddell
🎙 Angel Reese launches her podcast
⌛ DeMar DeRozan reflects on Chicago
🥈 Ixhelt González wins silver
👀 The Sky’s playoff picture
chicagotribune.com/2024/09/11/chi… – 9:02 AM
Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
What to look for from the Clippers roster, starting with Kawhi Leonard and James Harden … debating rotation spots ⁦@TheAthletic⁩ nytimes.com/athletic/57515… – 10:59 PM
Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
Derrick Jones Jr. 🏀
Terance Mann 🏀
Norman Powell 🏀
Who starts? Who gets the ball? How many minutes?
@TheAthletic
nytimes.com/athletic/57515… What to look for from the Clippers roster, starting with Kawhi Leonard and James Harden pic.x.com/7bejw6iu0b – 3:11 PM

Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
Kawhi Leonard and James Harden still play for the LA Clippers. There won’t be any questions about who Tyronn Lue will play through.
But how much should you expect from Leonard and Harden in terms of minutes and touches? @TheAthletic
nytimes.com/athletic/57515… pic.x.com/gaewluseot – 2:09 PM

Kyle Neubeck @KyleNeubeck
DeMar DeRozan could have been a Sixer?! That’s what the former Bulls wing said to Paul George this morning.
Discussing that alternate reality with Devon and Derek at 3 pm, plus the Murray extension and more:
youtube.com/live/0fJTymvqj… pic.x.com/9di4sbwvmc – 2:53 PM

StatMuse @statmuse
Highest +/- per game by an active player:
6.18 — Kawhi Leonard
6.15 — Steph Curry
6.06 — Jayson Tatum
5.88 — Joel Embiid
5.32 — Draymond Green pic.x.com/vf9hyw8ksf – 10:38 AM

More on this storyline

Additionally, Ross believes that the competition James has been playing against is much more impressive than what Jordan faced. “I mean, in the level of competition he’s doing it against is, to me, more impressive than the competition that Jordan won against, if we’re gonna be honest about it,” Ross concluded. -via Sports Illustrated / September 11, 2024
“LeBron is literally, to me now, he’s the GOAT,” Ross said. “I don’t know how you can put Jordan over him. If Jordan would have done what he was doing for 20 years, ‘I’m like yeah. Like, LeBron has a long way to go’.” “The truth of the matter is he played basketball twice, returned twice. Got a three-peat on his first return, and the second time he came back he was not the same player. “LeBron has literally been on a peak his entire career,” Ross continued. “I mean, he just gets older, but he still is as effective as he’s always been.” -via Sports Illustrated / September 11, 2024
From his manufacturing studio in South Los Angeles, Ciambrone, also known as the Shoe Surgeon, reconstructed a pair of Nike LeBron 20 sneakers using white crocodile leather and gleaming gold flourishes. Across the translucent blue outsoles, Ciambrone scrawled 38,388 — the number of points James scored to break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s long-held record — and added other career milestones in shimmery lettering on the sides. Crocodile-patterned gold foil was sewn over Nike’s iconic swoosh, the tail floating off each shoe like a tiny wing. Named “The Moment” and valued at more than $100,000, the bespoke sneakers were gifted to James the night he made history. -via Los Angeles Times / September 11, 2024