It’s not 2019 anymore: Bobby Webster puts Kawhi, roster concerns to rest

General Manager of the Raptors, Bobby Webster, addressed members of the press this morning ahead of the upcoming media day. He fielded questions on the proverbial summer of love between the Raptors, Clippers, and Kawhi Leonard, as well as giving his thoughts on both the off-season and the season ahead. Here are four key takeaways.

The Kawhi Leonard deal was a matter of trust

Webster pointed to his personal relationship with the general manager of the Clippers as being instrumental to completing the deal for Leonard. He said that the trade took a “huge amount of trust and respect”, where the Raptors refrained from taking advantage of the Clippers’ disarray in the wake of the NBA’s punitive measures.

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“I think when you agree to the deal, you agree to the deal,” he opined.

When asked about potential issues regarding Kawhi’s character, Webster again spoke about the importance of human relationships in the business, saying that “from a person and a player [standpoint], we were really comfortable.”

To make the deal happen amidst the chaos of the Aspiration Scandal and the NBA’s investigation, Webster and the Raptors leaned on the person-to-person connection that can sometimes be disregarded when private deals enter the public eye.

Bobby is looking ahead, not to the past

As important as pre-existing relationships are, Webster doesn’t seem particularly focused on nostalgia about the Raptors’ last title run.

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“I think there’s gonna be so many times where we’re gonna be tempted to sort of compare this to ’19,” he said, responding to a question about Kawhi’s load management at the end of the last decade. “I think probably we need to focus mainly on moving forward.” Speaking about Leonard’s health, Webster said that “as we move forward, we’ll have a better sense. But I think… the biggest thing is he’s coming off the healthy season.”

Indeed, Leonard played 65 games last season, 5 more than in the 2018-19 season. It seems that while the Raptors are still monitoring the health of their new star, it’s not the immediate concern that it was once upon a time.

Centre concerns perhaps overblown?

In further regards…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/not-2019-anymore-bobby-webster-152909627.html

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Publish date : 2026-09-24 15:29:00

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