Kawhi Leonard is the biggest name in free agency given that Kevin Durant suffered a torn Achilles tendon earlier this month. It seems that while the Raptors have been frontrunners to sign Kawhi this offseason, there is a new team that has taken the lead today.
There is a ‘heavy’ belief that Leonard will sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Belief of Kawhi to Los Angeles Lakers is strong.
When I asked a league source this afternoon, how strong?
They replied: “Heavy.”
Source isn’t locking it in yet, but calling it: “Likely.”
The fact that it is ‘likely’ that Kawhi Leonard will be joining LeBron in LA isn’t too surprising, but something that is very scary for the rest of the Western Conference.
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With Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson preparing to miss most of next season with injuries, the West seemed to be opening up to teams like the Nuggets, Blazers, and Jazz.
Now, if the heavy belief turns into a certainty and Kawhi Leonard signs with the Lakers shortly, the pendulum in the West will be swinging heavily towards the Lakers.
If Kawhi signs a max contract in LA, the Lakers won’t have much salary cap space to sign role players, but having three superstars will surely have veterans wanting to join the team on a cheaper contract to chase the championship.
Per SB Nation’s Kristian Winfield:
Leonard has made no public comments about his long-term commitment to the Raptors organization or the city of Toronto. There was a report he had purchased a home out north. He responded, “Didn’t happen yet. No.” When he was asked what winning a championship could mean for the city of Toronto, Leonard replied: “I’m really not sure. I guess you’ve gotta ask somebody on the street or one of our fans … or somebody that’s been living in Canada for awhile.”
Time will tell what Kawhi will decide. Leonard has been linked to the Los Angeles Clippers for a while.
“I mean if he leaves, my expectation is simply that’s where he’d go,” Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher told me on the Scoop B Radio Podcast.
“He’s looking at these bombers and he’s looking at a team that from the get go will be built around him and he’s going to be where he wants to be and he’s going to be the centerpiece as much as Toronto has catered to him, it’s a little bit, again, it’s like the uniqueness of LeBron going to Dwyane Wade and joining Dwyane Wade in Miami.”
Even actor, Samuel L. Jackson weighed in recently:
“I think he is going land with the Clippers for some reason,” Jackson told Scoop B Radio.
“But it would be an interesting shot if he shows up in Brooklyn.”
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Lakers Free Agency: Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard to LA ‘Heavy’ Possibility