Kawhi Leonard should not leave Toronto Raptors even for Los Angeles Lakers
Why would Kawhi Leonard leave the Toronto Raptors for the Los Angeles Lakers at this point in his career when he could later?
The NBA offseason is officially underway with Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors defeating the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. Now, all eyes will turn toward Leonard, one of the prized free agents this summer.
“It’s hard to walk away from a parade,” so said Jalen Rose on Jalen and Jacoby on Thursday morning. Totally agree. Kawhi Leonard is now the biggest name in free agent talks due to Kevin Durant‘s Achilles tendon injury.
It seems mainstream sports media have nothing better to talk about and haven’t stopped since before the regular NBA season was over. But Kahwi has no reason to leave the Toronto Raptors at this time.
Getting to the Finals as an NBA player is elusive, or in other words, it is something difficult to find, catch or achieve. According to the LandofBasketball.com, 31 players have made it to the NBA Finals in the history of the NBA more than five times. Of the 31 players, 14 are current or former Lakers. There are a lot of Boston Celtics on the list as well.
The top 13 players are as follows (note John Havlicek and K.C. Jones as well as Tom Sanders, competed in and won all eight, Jerry West lost the most.):
Players Who Have Played in the Most NBA Finals (*Current or Former Laker)
Player Played Won Lost Win %
1. Bill Russell 12 11 1 .917
2. Sam Jones 11 10 1 .909
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* 10 6 4 .600
4. Tom Heinsohn 9 8 1 .889
5. Magic Johnson* 9 5 4 .556
6. LeBron James* 9 3 6 .333
7. Jerry West* 9 1 8 .111
8. John Havlicek 8 8 – 1.000
9. K.C. Jones 8 8 – 1.000
10. Tom Sanders 8 8 – 1.000
11. Frank Ramsey 8 7 1 .875
12. Michael Cooper* 8 5 3 .625
13. Derek Fisher* 8 5 3 .625
Kevin Durant and Luke Walton both are at four, while Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson the core of the Gold State Warriors along with Dwyane Wade are at five.
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The Lakers are a mystery for next season. They have big plans but the world is watching closely to see if they will fix their situation. Let it play out another year and see what happens; the team will be there next season and maybe it would make sense to join next season.
So getting to the NBA Finals is difficult. Winning is even more difficult. Why would anyone leave a team that made it to the NBA Finals?
Wouldn’t you have the best chance to make the Finals or win again with the team you already got to the mountain top with? Sign a one year contract and play it out!
There are roughly 450 players on 30 teams. If you are a top player with chemistry on a team in the finals you stay and see where it goes. The Raptors are a team of an entire country of very proud and friendly people!
Next. 40 Greatest Lakers Players In Franchise History. dark
Kawhi is not stupid, he should and will most probably stay with the Raptors. Especially if Kevin Durant is out a year to recover from an Achilles tendon tear, which takes him out of the NBA Finals next season on any team. Just wait, teams will want him no matter what goes down next season.