Lakers Rumors: Kawhi Leonard gets traded to Toronto Raptors

Recent Lakers rumors are that Kawhi Leonard has been traded to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for DeMar DeRozan.

This offseason, there have been a ton of Lakers rumors surrounding San Antonio Spurs superstar, Kawhi Leonard. With a desire to leave the Spurs, San Antonio has been trying to get a deal done that would bring them a good return of talent for Leonard.

When trading a player of Leonard’s caliber, the team very rarely gets equal value in return. However, instead of going for a lot of draft picks and young players for Kawhi, the Spurs have reportedly traded him to the Raptors for DeMar DeRozan.

This is certainly a shocking trade, as Leonard’s camp has made it known that he would like to be playing in Los Angeles next season. With just one year left on his deal, Leonard could very well be leaving the Raptors after just one season. Considering that Toronto traded an All-Star guard for him in DeRozan, this is a risky move.

By acquiring Leonard, the Raptors should once again be one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference. Even though they lost to LeBron James last season, they were one of the best teams in the East last season, and Leonard is an upgrade over DeRozan.

With the Raptors acquiring Leonard, this likely means that the Lakers won’t be trading for Leonard this season unless something goes very wrong in Toronto during the season. For the Lakers, not trading away most of their young core for Leonard looks to be the right move. Now that he is in Toronto, the likelihood of him becoming a free agent at the end of the season has only increased.

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While Paul George did stay with the Oklahoma City Thunder, it is hard to imagine Leonard would do the same with the Toronto. For the Lakers, having a chance to keep their young core and sign Leonard as a free agent next season is certainly the best-case scenario.