Lakers Rumors: Los Angeles still in play for Kawhi Leonard
Recent Lakers rumors are that Los Angeles should not lose their hopes on Kawhi Leonard yet.
The Los Angeles Lakers made their major move in early June acquiring Anthony Davis in a long-awaited, much-suffered trade. Now it remains to fill out the rest of the roster, starting with that max (or almost max) salary slot available for a third star to join LeBron James and Davis in the championship hunt.
Although, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, former Laker D’Angelo Russell is at the top of their list, according to the same Woj, Kawhi Leonard, fresh off his second Finals MVP, has kept his eyes on the Lakers to see how the financial situation develops after the Davis trade.
Despite some doubt raised by his defensive ability, Russell, coming off an All-Star season leading the Brooklyn Nets to their first postseason in four years, Russell would be a great fit next to LeBron as a ball handler with three point shooting (37 percent this past season). However, do not turn your back on the two-time Finals MVP and best two-way player of the league, Kawhi Leonard , if he shows some interest.
It still remains to see what kind of interest it is. Certainly, after months reporting that the Toronto Raptors and the Los Angeles Clippers are the only realistic option with the Lakers out of the running, it is an encouraging sign to see him showing interest. That means he might set up a meeting with the purple and gold to give the chance to Rob Pelinka to convince him out of Canada and away from the city rivals Clippers.
With LeBron and AD, Leonard would constitute a formidable big three, one of the best in history. Maybe he could agree on a 1+1 deal to give them a chance to help him earn another ring next year and then decide if he really wants to remain or go lead his own team, as already done in Toronto.
Next. 3 Reasons to pursue D'Angelo Russell. dark
Signing Leonard still looks like a long shot. It has been constantly described as a two-horse race between Raptors and Clippers. However, if the Lakers had that full max salary slot available, would he really consider signing with them?