Los Angeles Lakers: Are NBA Finals hurting chances of landing Anthony Davis
By Ronald Agers
Toronto bet the franchise on a “rental” Kawhi Leonard and won
As of this writing, the Toronto Raptors have a 3-2 lead over the two-time World Champion Golden State Warriors. One more win will cement Kawhi Leonard as the Finals MVP for the second time in his career. It’s a no brainer that Leonard has been the best player on the court for both teams. But let’s be honest here. Masai Ujiri made a huge bet on himself and the franchise as a whole when he traded franchise icon DeMar DeRozan to San Antonio. Many around the league camped around this narrative.
Kawhi Leonard will stay for one year and then make his way to Los Angeles.
Well it’s amazing how things can change in a matter of months. With the Raptors going out of their way to protect Kawhi Leonard’s body with “load management”, there is now a growing belief that Leonard may stay and sign a one year deal with a player option.
After what happened to Kevin Durant in Game 5, Kawhi Leonard may be even more grateful of how the franchise took care of him throughout the season. Remember, Leonard was in a similar situation to Durant in San Antonio…
He’s not the only one. You can ask Anthony Davis as well. Remember the Pelicans were using the Saints medical staff to treat the basketball team. Whispers about Davis’ injury history tends to come up from time to time.
A possible selling point to a team that takes a gamble will be showing Davis that his health is just as big a priority to the franchise as his team. After Durant’s injury, it is now paramount for these teams to show free agents that their medical team can be trusted and their concerns will be respected.
Toronto paid attention to what happened to Kawhi Leonard in San Antonio and used the information for their own recruiting efforts.
It’s amazing how just one shot can change not only plans, but the direction of an entire league.
It is important to note that the NBA is a copycat league. If you haven’t noticed, the Warriors have been dissected to the point that teams use this thing called analytics as a system to derail them.
The Lakers had to believe in the fact that NBA front offices have taken notice to what the Raptors have done with Kawhi Leonard and the success that has blossomed from it. Leonard right now is easily one of the top two players in the NBA right now. Anthony Davis is considered top 5.
Don’t be surprised to see a NBA team try to make a run at Anthony Davis and try to emulate the same blueprint the Raptors used this past season.
In short, the Raptors, took what the Oklahoma City Thunder did with Paul George and super sized it. That saga was laid out last year. I’m sure no one wants to re-hash all of that again. Let’s get to the real here. The next ten days…