Getty The Lakers lost out on Kawhi Leonard to their neighbors.
Kawhi Leonard is the biggest name in free agency. That’s as big as Will Smith dropping a movie on Independence Day.
That’s why Leonard should announce his decision on the Fourth of July!
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.”
Leonard has everyone talking and waiting.
Kevin Durant did so similarly in 2016 when he left the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the Golden State Warriors.
Three years later, with championships won, KD has taken his talents to Brooklyn with the Nets alongside Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan.
The world now waits for Leonard.
He could sign a 1 year deal and stay with the Raptors for one more year.
If Kawhi joins the Lakers, it would be pretty cool to do. It’ll be the talk of the cookout and kitchen table talk conversation.
As I stated over the weekend: There is a ‘heavy’ belief that Leonard will sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.
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Early this AM I discussed it via IG Live with @OMaroneyNBA.
My perspective: that’s a 4th If July kind of announcement. Remember KD’s in 2016?
He’s a top recruit! You gotta wait!
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.
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.
The New York Post’s Kristian Winfield note that 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.”
Leonard has been linked to the Los Angeles Clippers.
“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.”