So apparently the Maple Leafs should make a DeMar DeRozan trade. Everybody knows that, because you seem to hear it everywhere. Trading DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard brought the Raptors a championship in 2019 and it was one of the best trades in NBA history, and that’s what the poor doomed, cursed, battered, bedraggled Leafs should do, apparently. Easy.
Who is the DeRozan in this scenario? Well, that apparently is Mitch Marner, whose playoff performances have faded at times as the year-over-year pressure has accumulated. He has gone from light and joyful to heavy and hesitant. It was Auston Matthews who said Monday that this market demands a scapegoat, and Marner — three points in seven games as part of a line with John Tavares against the most dangerous Bruins line — appears to be at the head of the list player-wise. William Nylander has eight years left, Matthews has four, Morgan Rielly has five, Tavares will play out the final year of his contract, and Marner is extension eligible this summer. He’s the obvious odd man out if you’re making a core change.
So, just trade him the way the playoff-limited Raptors traded the beloved DeRozan, right? Get a Kawhi back. Get on it, Brad Treliving.
Is this the bargaining stage of grief? Is it hand-waving wishcasting? Is it comparing apples and, say, blackberry bushes? Yes.
Look, it’s beyond obvious that this Leafs core hasn’t delivered. Eight playoff seasons, one series win, after which the good vibes lasted between two and three games before the abyss opened up again. This loss was messier, with injuries and absences abounding, but the end result was David Pastrnak streaking past five half-frozen Leafs in OT. It
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