Kawhi Leonard’s long nightmare is over—and it’s time for a new one. Leonard ran out of patience in San Antonio last season, as he didn’t play for the Spurs after mid-January amid a prolonged saga that saw Kawhi get injured and then his relationship with the franchise deteriorate. As of Wednesday, Leonard’s trade wish has come true, with San Antonio agreeing to a deal. San Antonio has agreed to trade Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green to Toronto for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a protected 2019 first-round pick, league sources tell ESPN. Trade call with league office is beginning momentarily. https://t.co/6DZNdAs8BM — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 18, 2018 But be careful what you wish for. Leonard is heading to the Raptors, a team that, according to ESPN’s Chris Haynes, he has “no desire” to play for. In return, the Spurs will reportedly get a package headlined by All-Star DeMar DeRozan, making this the most star-studded trade since last offseason’s Kyrie Irving–for–Isaiah Thomas deal. The trade shakes up the East’s power dynamic—and puts a lot of players in genuinely weird situations. Here are three quick thoughts on the deal. 1. The Raptors Want a Finals Appearance Now LeBron James has been very mean to the Raptors. Toronto has been one of the strongest teams in the Eastern Conference for years now, winning the Atlantic Division four times in the past five seasons and earning the East’s no. 1 seed in 2017-18 behind a franchise-record 59 wins. But James has repeatedly crushed the Raptors’ dreams, sweeping them out of the playoffs in each of the past two years. Toronto’s franchise high point remains a 2016 conference finals berth (a six-game series loss to LeBron’s Cavs). With LeBron signing in Los Angeles this summer and canceling his annual reservation for the East’s NBA Finals slot, however, the conference is suddenly wide open—and the Raps no longer have to worry about the guy who has repeatedly ruined their best-laid plans. Had they laid low this offseason, the Raptors would have entered the 2018-19 campaign as one of the East’s top contenders. They were the top seed last season, and their biggest antagonist has left. But they chose to upgrade from DeRozan, an All-Star, to Leonard, an MVP candidate when healthy. In replacing a star with a superstar, they could become the East’s team to beat. Of course, Toronto had to give up a bit of its future to make this deal happen. DeRozan was the Raptors’ franchise player—he’s the team’s all-time leader in points and games played—and is under contract through 2019-20 (with a player option for 2020-21). The Raptors also are set to give up a protected 2019 first-round pick and 22-year-old center Jakob Poeltl. The Raptors have a solid core of young, homegrown talent, but those players were expected to grow alongside DeRozan, who was committed to being Toronto’s star for a few years. Instead, Leonard will almost certainly leave in free agency next offseason, when he can opt out of his contract. With DeRozan gone and Leonard likely leaving … will OG Anunoby be Toronto’s best player in 2020? This is the Raps’ window. The Celtics and Sixers both seem like budding Eastern Conference powerhouses, but they’re still young and figuring out the full extent of their capabilities. So Toronto has taken a contender and added Leonard, who immediately becomes the best player in the East, in the hopes of reaching heights the franchise never has. (And then losing to the Warriors in the Finals, because, well, that’s all non–Golden State teams can really hope for these days.) 2. This Trade Makes Everybody Involved Sad Role players generally don’t have any say in where they’re being traded; when it comes to stars like Leonard and DeRozan, though, the players’ desires are typically taken into account. This makes sense: Franchises don’t often choose to invest in franchise-caliber players who do not like that given franchise. This move is the exception. Kawhi Leonard has no desire to play in Toronto, league source tells ESPN. — Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 18, 2018 Leonard reportedly does not want to go to Toronto. He’d been hoping to go to his hometown of Los Angeles. Toronto isn’t the NBA city farthest from L.A., but it’s pretty damn close. It snows there, and instead of cartons of milk Ontario sells bags of milk, which you’re supposed to cut open and put into a pitcher. A bag filled with liquid! Ridiculous. Kawhi wanted to be traded somewhere that felt more like home than San Antonio. Instead, he will spend all of February looking at the thermometer and being mad that both (a) it’s really freaking cold, and (b) his logic that “Wait—maybe it’s actually warm, because that temperature is in degrees Celsius” is flawed, and yes, it’s really freaking cold. Meanwhile, @DeMar_DeRozan not backing off of claim he was lied to by Toronto regarding a potential trade, per source. Extremely upset. — David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 18, 2018 DeRozan reportedly isn’t happy either! Toronto has become his home. Like Leonard, DeRozan is from L.A.; unlike Leonard, he’s become a huge fan of living in Canada. He garnered huge interest from the Lakers and Clippers when he was a free agent in 2016, and passed on both to sign a long-term deal with the Raptors. Here he is talking about his goal of becoming the greatest Raptor of all time, and how he enjoys celebrating Thanksgiving twice, the Canadian version in October and the American version in November. DeRozan and Kyle Lowry have also become best friends. DeRozan bought Lowry soap! They think their kids are in love! With this deal, both Leonard and DeRozan will be dumped into places they’ll probably dislike. Then again, Kawhi seemed pretty sad in San Antonio and rarely smiles in general. Maybe he just hates everything? Also probably sad: LeBron James, who chose to play for the Lakers ostensibly in the hope that he could team up with Leonard or Paul George. Instead, George is content to smoke cigars and lose in the first round of the playoffs with Russell Westbrook, while Leonard will have to wait a year if he wants to come to L.A. Good luck with Lance and Lonzo, LeBron! 3. Gregg Popovich Is Gearing Up for One Last Run Pop is 69 years old. The 2018-19 campaign will mark his 23rd consecutive season coaching the Spurs, tying him with Jerry Sloan for the most seasons coaching a single franchise in NBA history. The second-longest-tenured active head coach in the league is Erik Spoelstra, who took the reins with the Heat 12 years after Pop took over the Spurs. Pop has been with the Spurs forever; he probably won’t be with the Spurs for two forevers. So it appears that Pop wants to win during his last few years on the sideline. The Spurs probably could have gotten more youthful parts in a trade for Leonard, as the most-rumored deal of the offseason revolved around San Antonio acquiring Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma from the Lakers, although it’s unclear whether such an offer was ever on the table. One also imagines that the Spurs could have gotten more of the Raptors’ younger talent: Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, etc. Instead, the Spurs got a legit star they can plug into Leonard’s spot in the starting lineup on Day 1. They took a roster that made the playoffs in the West, exchanged one All-Star for another, and positioned themselves to compete over the next few years. Just looking at last season’s record and result, the Spurs’ run of relevance seemed over: They won 47 games in 2017-18, their lowest total this century, and won just a single playoff game, their low mark since 2009. Considering that the team on the court didn’t feature Leonard for most of the year and has now added an All-Star, though, I’d bet on Pop constructing this group into something reasonable. Pop was never going out with a rebuild.<doc-sep>The San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors have agreed to a trade centered on All-Stars Kawhi Leonard and DeMar DeRozan, league sources told Yahoo Sports. The Spurs will also trade Danny Green along with Leonard to the Raptors, who will send Jakob Poeltl and a future first-round draft pick with DeRozan, league sources said. DeRozan was informed of the deal overnight by Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri, and Leonard was informed of his move on Wednesday morning, league sources said. Talks between the Spurs and Raptors intensified in recent days, league sources said. The deal brings Leonard, one of the NBA’s top players when healthy, to Toronto and sends an All-NBA and All-Star caliber player in DeRozan to the Spurs. From the moment Leonard made clear his desire for a trade out of San Antonio, the Spurs have taken a patient, deliberate approach to finding a resolution. Several teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, emerged as suitors, but most NBA executives believed the Raptors presented the best potential current and future package. Leonard is scheduled to enter free agency in 2019 and has no desire to play for Toronto, league sources said. DeRozan also has expressed displeasure toward a move, becoming aware of the possibility late Tuesday night, league sources said. The San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors engaged in a trade of all-stars, swapping Kawhi Leonard for DeMar DeRozan. (AP) Leonard became uncomfortable with the Spurs’ franchise last season because of an overall mistrust stemming from the handling of his quadriceps injury, leading to his desire to be traded. The 2014 NBA Finals MVP then met with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich on June 19 and informed him that his stance had not changed, league sources said, and Leonard had long eyed Los Angeles as his next destination via free agency in 2019. For the Raptors, the deal comes weighing risk versus reward, but Toronto has become a potentially attractive city, organization and on- and off-court fit for marquee players. DeRozan has spent his entire nine-year NBA career in Toronto, the franchise that selected him with the No. 9 pick in the 2009 draft. The face of the franchise and culture, DeRozan remained loyal to the team in 2016 when he signed a five-year, $139 million contract extension. He is a four-time NBA All-Star, leading the Raptors to the most wins in franchise history, including the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals. Leonard, 27, is a two-time All-Star and led the Spurs to the 2014 championship. He’s under contract for two more seasons and owed $41.4 million, but has a player option for 2019-20. Leonard was drafted 15th overall in 2011 and when healthy is regarded as the league’s best two-way player. His finest season was in 2016-17, when Leonard averaged 25.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists and shot 38 percent from 3-point range. More from Yahoo Sports: • Former Steelers first-round pick Gabe Rivera dies • Man calls cop after hard foul in pickup basketball • Terrell Owens might be making a comeback in the CFL • Cowboys DE Randy Gregory finally reinstated after 18-month suspension<doc-sep>In 2009, the Toronto Raptors selected DeMar DeRozan 9th overall out of USC. Two years later, the Indiana Pacers selected Kawhi Leonard 15th overall and immediately traded him to the San Antonio Spurs. Both players have spent their entire NBA careers with those respective franchises, but today they've swapped places. After months of speculation and multiple trade rumors, the Spurs finally agreed to trade Leonard (as well as Danny Green) to the Raptors in exchange for DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a top-20 protected 2019 first round pick. Not long after the trade was announced, DeRozan took to instagram to voice his displeasure with the Raptors organization. According to David Aldridge, the 28-year old All-Star is extremely upset and is "not backing off of claim he was lied to by Toronto regarding a potential trade." Similarly, ESPN's Chris Haynes reported that Leonard "has no desire to play in Toronto." In wake of the deal, several current and former NBA players have also weighed in with their opinions on the trade, many of whom showed support for DeRozan, who allegedly met with Toronto brass in Las Vegas during summer league and was told he would not be traded. Scroll down to see how players around the league, media members and the rest of #NBATwitter are reacting to today's trade.<doc-sep>
UPDATE: It’s official, Kawhi Leonard may want to go purchase a couple really heavy winter coats, because he is headed to Toronto. The deal has been approved by the league and announced by the teams. Official: We've acquired Kawhi Leonard & Danny Green from the San Antonio Spurs for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl & a 2019 protected first-round draft pick. More » https://t.co/074JddI7af pic.twitter.com/kESo1ldLdz — Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) July 18, 2018 Welcome to San Antonio, DeMar! pic.twitter.com/kpjhqYigvf — San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) July 18, 2018 After another rough playoff exit at the hands of LeBron James, Raptors’ GM Masai Ujiri wanted to shake things up in Toronto this offseason. To change the culture. To make a push for a ring since the LeBron wall went West. The status quo was no longer good enough for the Toronto decision maker. He did that in the most dramatic way possible. In maybe the biggest move of the summer, the Raptors have acquired Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs. Adrian Wojnarowski and Chris Haynes of ESPN broke the story: The Toronto Raptors are finalizing a deal to acquire San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard in a trade package that includes All-Star DeMar DeRozan, league sources told ESPN…. Leonard and DeRozan are both aware that an agreement could be imminent, and neither is expressing enthusiasm for the deal, league sources said. DeRozan basically confirmed the trade before it became official — and his displeasure with it. DeRozan had been loyal to Toronto wanted to go down as the greatest Raptor ever. He embraced that city when others stars had bolted it, In an Instagram story, he vented (the Raptors reportedly told DeRozan during Summer League he would not be traded, despite rumors). Let's check in on DeMar DeRozan's Instagram Story right now: pic.twitter.com/frhH6YTiQS — The Ringer (@ringer) July 18, 2018 Leonard and DeRozan could not be traded for each other straight up (DeRozan makes $4 million more than Leonard, once Leonard’s trade kicker of $3 million is counted in), in the end the deal looked like this: Spurs have agree to trade Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green to Toronto for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a protected 2019 first-round pick, league sources tell ESPN. Trade call with league office is starting shortly. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 18, 2018 Source: Toronto's first-round pick to San Antonio is protected 1-20. After one year, it becomes two second-round picks. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 18, 2018 On paper, the trade makes sense for both sides. The Raptors take a shot at a ring and winning Leonard over to their team, if that fails and he bolts they start a rebuild (they also didn’t give up young players they really like such as OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam). This is a win for the Raptors. The Spurs remain competitive for the next two or three years, likely as long as Gregg Popovich will coach, then they will rebuild. The Spurs did not want to send Leonard to the West and the Lakers, and they wanted a star player who would keep them relevant and in the playoffs as part of the deal. DeRozan does that (while the Lakers and Sixers would not throw in key pieces such as Brandon Ingram or Markelle Fultz). Paired with LaMarcus Aldridge, Dejounte Murray, and the always solid role-playing core with the Spurs, they are in the playoff mix in the middle of a brutal West. DeRozan has two seasons guaranteed at $27.7 million, with a player option for a third season after that. Leonard is a free agent in the summer of 2019 and can then sign anywhere he wants. That has reportedly been Los Angeles, although in Las Vegas I heard rumors from sources that both the Lakers and Clippers are in play to land him. The Raptors will have this season to win Leonard over and get him to re-sign — just as Oklahoma City did with Paul George. Toronto is a fantastic city, it has a passionate fan base, and the team is poised to win a lot. Toronto also has more money: with the trade Toronto can offer Leonard a five-year, $189.6 million contract next summer, the most any other team can put on the table is a four-year, $140.6 million offer. Leonard, it should be noted, walked away from a $221 million offer should he have worked things out with the Spurs. George was open to the Oklahoma City experience, will Leonard be in Toronto?