got out from under derozan's money (turns 29 next month, is owed a ton a bread, and evaporates into thanos dust in critical postseason moments, perfect time to move on from him) without sacrificing any of their key youngsters (van vleet, OG, siakam, wright) in the process

improved *dramatically* in the short term on a team that had clearly run aground and hit its ceiling (this part's being underemphasized, they're prolly the east favorite right now)

got a decent amount of time to sell kawhi on their city and culture

and gave themselves the flexibility to pivot to rebuild mode a year early if things don't work out.

and can still flip kawhi in february if desired.

stellar work. A+. all the smart bloggers/analysts out there seem to grasp this.