Recently, Kawhi Leonard spoke about being close to choosing the Los Angeles Lakers over the Los Angeles Clippers.
This offseason, arguably the best free agent that was available was Kawhi Leonard. After creating the cap space necessary for a max spot, the Los Angeles Lakers were actively trying to get Kawhi.
It took a lot of work, but the Lakers gave themselves an opportunity to pursue Leonard this offseason. Many didn’t believe that they would be able to accomplish this, but a lot of credit has to go Rob Pelinka for pulling it off.
There has been a lot of talk about whether or not the Lakers really had a chance at Kawhi, but they wouldn’t have waited as long as they did in free agency if they didn’t feel that they did.
Recently, Kawhi spoke about almost choosing the Lakers or the Toronto Raptors in free agency.
Kawhi on how close he was to choosing the Lakers or Raptors instead of the Clippers:
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) July 24, 2019
"I was very close. Real close. But when [the Clippers] presented the opportunity of playing with Paul, it was easy, it was a yes. I said let's get it going."
For Leonard, it appears like the only way he was going to choose the Clippers was if they had another star coming with him. For quite some time, that didn’t appear to be the case, which is likely why the Lakers and Raptors were in great shape. However, the Clippers made the decision to make a big offer to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Paul George.
Now, Leonard and George will form one of the best duos in the NBA. With a solid supporting cast as well, the Clippers will be a big threat to the Lakers this season.
While Leonard did win a title with the Raptors last season, it would have been very difficult for them to repeat with how the offseason was shaking out. Also, the Raptors and Leonard did get a tad lucky playing the Warriors at nowhere close to 100 percent in the NBA Finals.
Since the Clippers were willing to mortgage their future for George, they might have thought that Leonard was going to be heading to the Lakers. If that happened, the Clippers and the rest of the league likely would have seen another dynasty emerging.
With Leonard choosing the Clippers at the end of the day, we will likely see a great rivalry between the Lakers and Clippers. While the Clippers have been better of late, we should see both franchises playing at a high-level next season.