Getty Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors celebrates his teams win over the Golden State Warriors.
The Lakers are very publicly on the hunt for Kawhi Leonard and despite there being no definitive end in sight, the internet (or more accurately Laker fans) can’t help but fawn over the idea of Kawhi joining forces with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The trio of stars would instantly rank among the best trios assembled in the history of the sport – on paper that is.
If the Lakers do land Leonard, their one and only weakness is likely going to be their lack of depth. Despite this being an extremely deep free agency class, the majority of solid contributors flew off the board early in a feeding frenzy. While there are still serviceable players on the market, the Lakers won’t have the money necessary to land much more than someone willing to come play for the veteran minimum.
This lack of depth hurts their win total in the latest projections, however, the theoretical addition of Kawhi Leonard changes the game entirely.
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Lakers’ Win Total, Playoff Projections if Kawhi Leonard Signs Revealed
According to FiveThirtyEight’s CARMELO Projection has the Lakers (with Kawhi Leonard factored in) winning 52.8 games in the regular season – good for fourth best in the league and second in the West.
However, when the CARMELO Projection factors in playoff performance into the mix, the Lakers jump to the second highest projection total in the league, just slightly behind the Houston Rockets. Both LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard receive hefty bonuses from the CARMELO Projection’s playoff boost, helping to close the gap tremendously between them and the Houston Rockets.
However, it is worth noting that there is a very good chance Houston doesn’t look the same come the start of the regular season as a number of their key players are very publicly listed on the trade block.
Lakers Summer League Team Wins Exciting Thriller
While the Lakers’ brass tries to convince Leonard to take his talents to Los Angeles, the Lakers’ Summer League squad had an incredible comeback in their California Classic finale. Trailing by 21 points at one point in the fourth quarter, the Lakers stormed back led by a Jordan Howard three-point barrage and capped off the comeback with a game-winning dagger by Zach Norvell Jr. with four seconds on the clock.
The California Classic gave Laker fans a glimpse into a few possible players that could see some actual service time on what will be a paper thin roster should they sign Kawhi. Two-Way player Norvell looked spectacular as a rookie in Summer League and after two monster scoring nights, was still able to contribute – and hit the game winner – despite struggling to shoot for most of the game.
Devontae Cacok didn’t steal the spotlight in the finale but had another solid performance off the bench. Cacok is a bundle of energy and while he is extremely foul-prone and plays a bit TOO aggressive, the hope is he can learn to reign that in and compete with some more measured aggression. Marcus Allen is a player to watch entering the Vegas Summer League as well, the defensive-minded point guard has been a pest through the California Classic and the second-year player looks to be turning into a competent NBA level defender.