Sports Illustrated Kids – September 2019

few high-risk

deals could push

the roster over

the top.

Ye t t hose

kinds of trades

remain rare for

a simple reason:

job security. Sports executive gigs are

very lucrative and equally insecure.

One bad trade can cost the person

responsible a million-dollar salary.

Ironically, these pressures cause GMs

to eventually “go for it” at the exact

wrong time: when their squads stink

and they’re desperate to save their jobs.

(See: the Mets, various years.)

So kudos to Ujiri for nabbing

Leonard at the right time in spite of the

chance that it might not work out. Flags

fly forever—front-office jobs never last.

colorways—black and

white with a red

stripe—which

is called Best

Kept Secret, a

reference to

himself. That’s

not exactly

the case

anymore

after this

year’s NBA

during the Eastern

Conference semifinals,

sold out quickly.

Following

Leonard’s move

to the Clippers in

free agency, New

Balance announced

a limited edition of

the shoe (left)—

Return of the

Fun Guy—decked

out in his

new team’s

colors. It

sold out in

minutes.

The shoes use a

“new and improved”

version of the FuelCell

foam that most New

Balance running shoes

have, which offers

great comfort and

support and enough

traction to withstand

the hardest cuts on

the hardwood. The

OMN1S are the next

can’t-miss signature

NBA shoe.

—Ethan Thomas

Taking the lid off the

coolest sports gear.

Kawhi Leonard became

New Balance’s flagship

basketball athlete when

he signed last November.

And on Feb. 15, the

company announced that

he was getting his very

own signature shoe, the

OMN1S. At the All-Star

Game two days later,

he wore one of the six

UNBOXED

10 / SPORTS ILLUSTRATED KIDS

JIM

MO

NE/AP/SH

UTTERSTO

CK (W

ALKER); CO

URTESY O

F N

EW

BALAN

CE (SH

OE)

World Series–winning homer with

the Braves in 2007? Did you ever

read about the Vikings’ early ’90s

dynasty led by Herschel Walker?

No? That’s because none of those

things happened outside of the

daydreams of a few hopeful general

managers. But that was enough to

motivate those executives to set

their franchises back several years.

Blame the memory of those

disasters for the conservatism of the

modern GM. Or blame math. With

analytics enabling teams to put

dollar-figure values on players, they’re

increasingly reticent to trade rookies—

who sometimes make league-

minimum salaries—for multimillion

dollar superstars.

Making all the “right” moves does

not guarantee a championship,

however. Teams aspire to be the next

Patriots or Warriors and build a

dynasty by developing homegrown

talent and making shrewd, low-risk

signings. Drafting a Stephen Curry or

a Tom Brady, however, is about as

likely as successfully infiltrating

Area 51. Very few clubs achieve

dynasty status. More likely is a small

window of contention during which a

because of an injury. At the time of the
deal, it was uncertain whether
Leonard would even agree to suit up

for the Raptors.
Of course, he did. Averaging

30.5 points per game in the playoffs,
Leonard almost single-handedly
delivered the Raptors their first

NBA championship.
Across sports, teams rarely take the
kind of chance Toronto did. Typically a

struggling club unloads a pending
free agent for lesser assets because

“something is better than nothing.”
Or a GM will give up the goods on the
condition that an incoming star signs

a contract extension.
Leonard did ultimately leave for
L.A., signing a max contract with the

Clippers. That doesn’t mean the
Raptors or their fans regret the trade
even the tiniest bit. Will other

franchises in the Big Four leagues
follow their example? Should teams

“go for it” more often?
For every Kawhi Leonard, there are
five cautionary tales about the dangers

of going all-in. Remember the Nets’
championship run with Paul Pierce
and Kevin Garnett in 2014? Have you

seen the highlights of Mark Teixeira’s

WALK IT BACK

The Vikings’ trade

for Herschel

Walker launched

a dynasty—just

not theirs. (The

Cowboys won three

Super Bowls.)