Despite the 2018-19 season not even starting, NBA experts are talking about next summer’s free agency and the possibility of Kawhi Leonard to the Los Angeles Clippers.
It’s never to early to start speculating! On ESPN’s The Jump yesterday, August 15, four NBA experts sat down to discuss the summer of 2019-20 and where they think free agents will land. Three of the four agreed that Kawhi Leonard to the Los Angeles Clippers was the most likely scenario.
The majority of this summer was spent speculating on possible trade packages that the Clippers could put together for Kawhi, but alas, it was all for nothing as the Spurs traded the former Finals MVP to the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors are confident in their ability to retain Kawhi next summer when he will be an unrestricted free agent.
With the Los Angeles Lakers also in play, the Clippers will have to make a hard sell to Kawhi. With the pedigree of Doc Rivers and Jerry West, the team is already off to a great start.
Leonard has reportedly been adamant about his desire to play in Los Angeles and given his comments about not getting enough endorsements nor attention, it’s hard to see him being happy next to LeBron James.
Still, the Clippers aren’t the most popular team in the city, so if Leonard does want all of the limelight, he won’t get it there. If he’s fine being the face of a franchise while still remaining low key, the Clips make sense.
Next summer, the Clippers will have two max-contract roster spots available. The roster was built in order to compete in the 2019-20 free agency period, so expect some big swings next summer. Tobias Harris, along with Patrick Beverley, Milos Teodosic and Marcin Gortat will be a free agent. The team may not bring all of them back in order to maximize the free agent talent they can bring in.
Keep checking back here as we watch Kawhi Leonard’s relationship with the Raptors through the season and for all the free agency speculation!