Is Kawhi Leonard still an option for the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency?
Magic Johnson‘s gameplan was simple when he took over as Los Angeles Lakers President of Basketball Operations from Jim Buss; sign two superstars in free agency and his beloved Los Angeles Lakers would be back in title contention.
To his credit, he got halfway there in landing LeBron James, but fast forward to today and things have not gone to plan.
With Magic Johnson stepping down as President of Basketball Operations, and the missing out on Paul George in free agency, failing to get a Kawhi Leonard or Anthony Davis trade done and not making the playoffs, I think we can safely say things haven’t really worked out.
The Lakers have now missed the playoffs for six straight seasons. LeBron James & Co. season was nothing short of disappointing. With so much hype and expectation, it is easy for Lakers fans to feel more than a bit deflated, however, the show must go on and the Lakers must focus on their long term future.
With all the talk surrounding Anthony Davis over the last number of months, there has been little to no mention of the other superstar the Lakers were all in on mere months earlier; Kawhi Leonard.
Kawhi has effortlessly returned to his sparkling best, averaging 26.6 PPG, 3.3 APG and 7.3 RPG for the season. With a supporting cast including Marc Gasol, Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry and OG Anunoby, the Raptors are now NBA finalists this season on the back of Kawhi’s brilliance this postseason in finishing off the 76ers and Bucks.
However, with Anthony Davis trade chatter quieting down, it has unearthed something that I don’t think many people have thought of the last few months. Things have been very quiet on the Kawhi Leonard front regarding his upcoming free agency.
Not long ago Kawhi was involved in Anthony Davis esque rumors, linking him to both Los Angeles teams and he was adamant that even after Lebron James signing with the Lakers that his intention was to be a Laker.
With Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN saying on July 2, 2018
Sources: As trade talks have unfolded, Kawhi Leonard’s focus is unchanged: He wants to be a Laker. https://t.co/0wZGf5MrNt
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2018
However, mere days after this Woj Bomb, Shams Charania, currently of The Athletic, appeared on the Colin Cowherd show and was quoted as saying, “I don’t think Kawhi is jumping for joy now that LeBron is a Laker. If anything, he’ll be more open to joining the Clippers.”
(conversation about Kawhi Starts at 28:00)
With Ramona Shelburne of ESPN appearing on 710 ESPN Mason and Ireland following this all up by saying “I would say Clippers 1 because I agree with those two guys [Wright and Rose],” says Shelburne. “I would say Toronto 2, and I would say Lakers 3”
(Click in Shelburne’s name and at 27:21 she talks about Kawhi)
So what changed in this time period? What led Kawhi from being focused on joining the Lakers with LeBron to the Lakers sliding down the list to 3rd, according to sources?
The first thing that comes to mind is simple, Kawhi wants his own team. During Kawhi’s tenure with the San Antonio Spurs, he was the quiet superstar. It was Tim Duncan‘s team. With Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, they had two beloved elder statesmen who during the course of their career were stellar players, but it was Kawhi who was the Finals MVP for the Spurs in 2014.
I think to a certain extent Kawhi felt disrespected that he wasn’t getting the same recognition or love from the San Antonio faithful as Duncan, Parker and Manu did. I think he came to the conclusion that to get the respect he wants and deserved he will have to move on from San Antonio and take over his own team.
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The misdiagnosis of his injury played a major role in him leaving and the Spurs questioning whether Kawhi was still injured.
It’s easy to see why Kawhi and his camp wanted out of San Antonio so he could explore other opportunities, which would allow him to get the respect he deserves from a financial and respect standpoint.
Another potential reason why Kawhi left the Spurs and made a move elsewhere is that he saw the writing on the wall. Gregg Popovich isn’t getting any younger, the days of Tim Duncan are done.
While the Spurs had some decent talent, the team was not good enough going forward to compete for a championship. Rather than waiting for the penny to drop, Kawhi seized his chance and got out of there before it all went south.
Now, to move onto the reasons why Kawhi could make the move to LA. If Kawhi was to go to the Lakers, it would still be LeBron’s team. While Leonard seemed to be ok with that initially, I think his agent and team quickly changed their mind about playing second fiddle to anyone when the Los Angeles Clippers or Toronto Raptors offer Leonard a team of his own.
However, there are so many other reasons for Kawhi to join the Lakers.
Financially, long term, it makes a world of sense for Kawhi to come home to Southern California and be a big market box office draw.
For being one of the best players in the league, Kawhi’s shoe deal with Jordan was pitiful for a player of his caliber. Ramona Shelburne and Michael C. Wright of ESPN reporting that Leonard was making in the ballpark of $500,000 per season for his shoe deal. Kawhi left Jordan after some disrespectful offers and joined New Balance.
With James Harden earning $200 million in 13 years, Kevin Durant making $300 million over 10 years and Steph Curry making $285 million over 10 years, Kawhi was getting seriously screwed by Jordan and decided enough was enough and signed with New Balance for $5 million per year, still a bargain for a superstar player.
If Kawhi was in Los Angeles playing for the Purple and Gold, I can guarantee you that he gets a monster deal from one of the major shoe brands, not to mention all the sponsorships and future financial opportunities.
Kawhi and LeBron James would automatically put the Lakers in a position to compete with Golden State for the Western Conference Finals, especially if Kevin Durant moves on. With Kawhi capable of stopping anyone defensively and LeBron borderline unstoppable when he is at his best, it would be a tall order to stop both of them. The Lakers also offer an organization who will do everything it can to win.
And even the negative of Kawhi not being thrilled about being a second option, that can actually work to his advantage. LeBron will be the vocal leader and will deal with all the press, Kawhi will be the best player and go to guy long term. He gets all the benefits of being the guy without the same press as Lebron.
So the question of the day, is Kawhi still an option for the Lakers going into free agency? My short answer is yes. The Lakers have LeBron James, they have a young core who will develop or they can trade them for win-now veterans or even a superstar and they have a top 4 pick. However, it’s hard not to think that Kawhi might find the Clippers a more appealing option.
The Clippers have a solid core of veterans under contract, they have one of the best coaches in the NBA in Doc Rivers, they have an excellent front office and they have an owner who has money to burn.
Also, a very important caveat, the Clippers don’t get half as much press as the Lakers. Even during Lob City, the Clippers were still not getting as much press as the Lakers. For someone as introverted as Kawhi, this might be an ideal situation for him to have his own team, in his home town, playing for a team that pushed the Warriors in the first round.
I think Kawhi will give the Lakers a meeting, but the Lakers need to sort out and fix their front office quickly in order for any free agents to take them seriously because league wide the Lakers are being laughed at.
The front office is in disarray, and Jeanie Buss being incredibly guilty of cronyism with allowing the likes of Linda and Kurt Rambis to have a real say in the organization, even though Linda has no basketball experience and Kurt has failed spectacularly in his post-playing career.
If, and it’s a big if, the Lakers can fix the front office and now with a respected head coach in place in Frank Vogel, they will have a chance to get Kawhi but currently, the deck is stacked against them.
If the Lakers do not address the front office problems then this season could be biblically bad for the Purple and Gold, here is hoping that this is not the case.
My prediction: Kawhi signs in LA….. with the Clippers