Canada may be a hockey nation, and the majority of their heroes may come from that sport, but Kawhi Leonard has hit ground that’s rare after he delivered an NBA championship to the Toronto Raptors — he has certainly joined that list of icons. Now just a day out from free agency, fans in T-Dot (and all across Canada for that matter) are curious to see if he’ll stay after winning a ring with their team. But Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers fans are curious to see if he comes to their team as well. As it stands right now, the oddsmakers have him staying a Raptor.
NBA betting sites currently have the Toronto Raptors as the top favorite in the odds with a figure of -125, and with a championship ring and a culture to offer, it’s understandable why they would think Kawhi Leonard would stay. Both Los Angeles teams aren’t far behind though: The Lakers and Clippers are in a second-place tie to add Kawhi Leonard in free agency, both sitting with a number of +190.
After the Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers in the odds comes the New York Knicks at a long shot +3500, followed by the Brooklyn Nets at a hefty +5000 and the Philadelphia 76ers at a last-place +7500.
Let’s go in depth into the big three of the Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, and their chances of grabbing the two-time NBA champion.
TORONTO RAPTORS
One of the most recent reports in the news that has Toronto Raptors fans amp’d is that he’s bought a residence in the Toronto area — that’s a pretty big deal for any athlete. And also consider this: Leonard is very picky about what gets into the media, and he tries to keep his life as secret as possible. The fact that he let this leak into the media could be telling as far as him wanting to stay. Of course, both the Raptors organization and their fan base (and the Canadian media at that) will view this as a positive thing, and as they should.
And if you’re Kawhi Leonard, it’s going to be hard not to stay. The way that general manager Masai Ujiri has put together this roster, it could compete for a championship for years — and they already have one ring on their finger for motivation, and they’ve also gotten over the hump to win more. But Leonard has an argument against Toronto: He was the sole reason of why Toronto got to the NBA Finals, doing so with flashy dunks and incredible buzzer-beaters. If he does use that argument, he has a valid point and could be on his way to Los Angeles — especially to play with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Still, it would be pretty tempting to stay with the Raptors with everything that they have to offer.
The Toronto Raptors already have a pretty impressive package to offer Kawhi Leonard, but they have something else to offer, something special, something that no other team in the National Basketball Association can offer. That’s being the king of an entire country, and having an entire nation as your fan base. As you know, the Raptors are the only NBA team in Canada, and with that being the case, it’s pretty much Kawhi’s country to give up. All of Canada is his if he wants it. Toronto, the city, hasn’t won a championship since the 1993 Blue Jays, so this is obviously been a long time coming. And with Toronto being a key city in Canada, that makes it even deeper for Kawhi Leonard and his status of royalty in Canada. I’m telling you, this is going to be pretty hard for Leonard to give up.
This past season, Kawhi Leonard would miss 22 games due to a quadriceps injury, Despite that, however, the Raptors heavy talent load would still get them a total of 58 wins for the regular season — yes, that’s just two away from a 60-win campaign. This roster will allow Leonard to be both durable and rested, which will be make him absolutely lethal in the playoffs — after all, we just saw an example with it ending with another ring on Kawhi’s finger. Toronto’s offensive system would also allow Kawhi Leonard to be the centerpiece, and that puts a spotlight on Kawhi Leonard like we’ve never before. That will also be hard to give up. And oh yeah, let’s not forget this fact: The Toronto Raptors can offer Kawhi Leonard the most money.
After Kawhi Leonard played just nine games in the 2017-18 campaign and the disastrous fallout with the San Antonio Spurs, Ujiri would still take a huge risk on the superstar — that’s something that I’m sure Kawhi Leonard appreciates and will remember. With the massive reports of positivity coming out of the press, it’s hard to see Kawhi Leonard leave the Toronto Raptors, but we’ve seen crazy things happen before in NBA Free Agency. Also, it recently came out that he will be taking a meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers, and he only wants to meet with Magic Johnson (who resigned from the franchise) and Jeannie Buss — keep an eye on that as it’s developing. With that being said, however, the Toronto Raptors franchise has done everything in their power to show Kawhi Leonard that the Raptors is the place for him. Even if they don’t land him, you can’t blame Toronto at all. I wouldn’t be shocked if Kawhi leaves, but I know it’ll be tough for him to do so.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
The Clippers risked getting hit with tampering charges throughout the season with their constant “scouting” of Kawhi Leonard, but they were very smart about getting around it. Not only would they classify it as scouting, but they would sit courtside at his games and let him know that they were “watching” him. There were no actual conversations of “interest”, so the Clippers were playing this pretty smart the whole year. Now let’s see if it pays off now that we’ve arrived to the free agency period.
Los Angeles also has something to offer Kawhi Leonard that few teams can: Two max-player spots within their salary cap — one for Kawhi and the other for another elite player, making the Clippers an instant championship contender. What makes that even more appealing as well is that the Clippers are coming off of a 48-win season, doing this without any superstars. Oh, and that’s not all. They would also take the Golden State Warriors to a six-game series in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs. The Clippers aren’t a joke anymore. If you put Kawhi on that team, along with another superstar, that team instantly becomes one of the top tier in the league. All of that to offer Kawhi, and that’s right, he’s from Los Angeles too. There is certainly a ton of appeal for the Los Angeles Clippers if you’re Kawhi Leonard.
Don’t expect the steam about Kawhi Leonard signing with the Los Angeles Clippers to go away until he actually does or doesn’t. With him being from Southern California, already expressing interest in going to LA, and with what the Clippers can offer, the rumors will always be existent. The Toronto Raptors may have more to offer Kawhi overall, but don’t sleep on the Los Angeles Clippers — especially with how mysterious Kawhi Leonard is, there could be some motivation that we’re not even aware of right now that sends him to the Clippers. We’ll see.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
The Los Angeles Lakers are involved for three reasons: 1. They’re in Los Angeles. 2. They recently cleared up cap space for a max-player guy. And 3. They already have LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Now all there is left to do for the Lakers is to sign a third superstar, like Kawhi Leonard. Just imagine a trio like that of James, Davis and Leonard — oh my, how both deadly and sexy. LeBron irks me, but even that would pull me into the Lakers brand as far as liking them. (I’m a Miami Heat fan, by the way.) With that trio obviously being better than anything the Toronto Raptors can offer roster-wise, you have to be incredibly tempted if you’re Kawhi Leonard. But here’s the issue, and why I think Kawhi might be hesitant: He’s very low-profile, and after the San Antonio Spurs drama, I don’t think he’s interested in more. That could potentially hold back Kawhi from landing with LeBron and the Lakers — two brands that always have their fair share of controversy.
What makes the Lakers more of a reality than what they were before is Los Angeles’ acquisition of Anthony Davis. In a power trade that saw the Lakers’ future in the NBA draft go away for years, they would be able to land Davis to team up with LeBron. Obviously, the time to win is now for the ‘Lake Show’, and that will make them aggressive in their pursuit of Kawhi Leonard to complete their big three.
Let’s go a little bit further into the odds and the latest reports of Kawhi Leonard’s connections with each of the franchises of the Toronto Raptors, and Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers.
Even though most of the reports have been positive for the Toronto Raptors for the most part up until this point, things are starting to get a bit nerve-wracking now for the franchise and their fan base. A report released just hours ago from Heavy. indicates that the Lakers’ chances of grabbing Kawhi Leonard has been described as ‘heavy’ as well. In a similar report from ClutchPoints, this time for the Toronto Raptors, their chances has been described as ‘fading’, so there’s definitely some real concern here for Canada’s faithful — and it isn’t just because of the Lakers either. CBC, a Canadian outlet, is reporting that Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant have been discussing plans about teaming up in either the city of New York or Los Angeles, so that’s another opportunity for Kawhi lingering him away from T-Dot.
But there have been a few more good reports for the Toronto Raptors as of late that could help calm nerves a little bit. According to ESPN sources, Kawhi Leonard will be letting the Raptors make the final pitch, and it’s been reported by multiple outlets that he’s ‘seriously considering’ re-signing with Toronto. But then you see more conflicting reports, this time in the favor of the Los Angeles Clippers that keeps Raptors fans shook, and that report, you ask? Well, Kawhi Leonard just wants to straight up play for the Clippers. On top of that, the L.A. Clippers are also trying to team up Kawhi Leonard and their already 48-win team with talent such as Kevin Durant or Jimmy Butler, so the Clippers will definitely be another ‘heavy’ option for the hometown kid.
How on earth do you make this decision if you’re Leonard? All three are so incredibly tempting. If it were me, I’d personally shoot in favor of the Los Angeles Lakers for where my career would continue. Still, the Toronto Raptors are going to be incredibly hard to pass on.
The Los Angeles Clippers are in the running to have a hell of a summer. Not only are they in the chase for Kawhi Leonard, but they’re also aggressively pursuing Kevin Durant to pair with him — Leonard and KD themselves have discussed playing together in either Los Angeles or New York City. The Clippers have a back-up plan if Durant falls through too, they have a solid option of bringing in Jimmy Butler to play with Leonard. For the L.A. Clippers, there’s a lot of pressure on them this offseason to bring in Leonard — mainly because the perception of the franchise’s offseason is ‘Kawhi or Bust’. In other words, they need Kawhi Leonard to come to the Clippers, or the entire summer will be a waste, because they’ll surely lose out on Kevin Durant if they don’t pull in Leonard — he is the centerpiece of the Clippers’ summer.
With that being said, however, there’s good news for Clipper Nation: Out of both of the Los Angeles teams, Kawhi is more focused on the Clippers, and even more positive for Los Angeles, he wants to play for the Clippers outright. Though that doesn’t mean he’ll completely ignore the Lakers, he’ll give them a hearing.
Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers meet on July 2. Though it’ll come with a caution, they’ve been preparing for the scenario that Kawhi Leonard stays with the Toronto Raptors.
According to a report from For The Win, the Los Angeles Lakers are to be ‘taken seriously’ and will be strongly considered by Kawhi Leonard for where he will sign in free agency. And that’s not all, it gets much better for ‘Lake Nation’: They’ve emerged as a serious threat.
But here’s the problem, and something that I kind of went into detail in: Kawhi won’t be happy being LeBron James’ sidekick, and he just doesn’t want to deal with that kind of drama. But, ‘the king’ himself has countered: He’s offered Leonard the opportunity to be the star player, saying he’ll take more of a ‘complementary role than ever before’ if Kawhi signs with the Lakers.
Seems pretty tempting if you’re Kawhi Leonard, especially after Los Angeles’ acquisition of Anthony Davis and their clearing up of cap space for another max-contract player. I expect the Toronto Raptors or Los Angeles Clippers to still receive the most heat in the media, but don’t sleep on the Los Angeles Lakers — they’re only picking up steam at the moment. And personally, I have Kawhi Leonard taking the risk to return to his hometown, play for the iconic Lakers brand, and play with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. I just see it too tempting to pass up on. I’ll disagree with the oddsmakers, and take the Los Angeles Lakers as my favorite.
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