According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Kawhi Leonard still wants to play in Los Angeles. This bodes well for the LA Clippers who have their sights set on the superstar.
The Toronto Raptors currently sit in first place in the Eastern Conference and show no signs of slowing down and yet they are still worried. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Kawhi Leonard still has his heart set on playing in Los Angeles despite Toronto’s success. This bodes well for the LA Clippers who have shown a ton of interest in the superstar.
Woj reported on The Lowe Post that playing at home and in warm weather has always been the priority for Leonard and that Toronto is reportedly nervous about retaining the All-Star this summer when he will enter unrestricted free agency.
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The Clippers have already made their intentions with Leonard clear. On top of doing the obvious to get themselves financially able to sign Leonard, the team has been present at many of his games with President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank and other front office members attending around 75% of Toronto’s games.
LA wants to continuously stay in Kawhi’s head so that he isn’t swayed by the success of the Raptors. If this rumor from Woj holds true, then the team is on the right path.
The Clippers have also shown interest in Kevin Durant, hoping to pair him alongside Leonard. While Durant seems like a long shot, the Clips cannot give up on courting him. Signing both Durant and Leonard would catapult the team into championship contention.
This season for the Raptors, Leonard is averaging a career-high 26.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists while still getting it done on the defensive end with 1.8 steals a game.
Leonard could easily become the focal point of the LA Clippers and bring them right back into the conversation after the team disbanded it’s Lob City group. The front office, along with consultant Jerry West, looked to not fully tear down the team and rebuild, but instead wanted to just retool and bring in competitive players while retaining cap space to add a star.
With Leonard showing interest in the city, it looks like they just may pull it off after all.