Kawhi Leonard bought a house in Southern California — does that matter?

Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard has reportedly purchased a home in Southern California. As one of the LA Clippers’ top targets, is this important?

One could say that the LA Clippers have been far from secretive about their plans to sign Toronto Raptors star Kawhi Leonard this summer. It was never confirmed by the organization, but evidence suggests they fired former color analyst Bruce Bowen because of his controversial opinions regarding the two-way star. In addition to that, it’s been reported that the Clippers have had employees attend “at least 75 percent” of Leonard’s games this season, so one could say things are getting serious between the two.

It only added fuel to the fire when, on Thursday night, the LA Times reported that Leonard had recently purchased a $13.3 million home in Southern California (specifically, San Diego). The more than five acre estate has been tailor-made for Leonard, and reportedly includes a workout facility, a home theater, and 10.5 bathrooms. You know, normal people stuff.

The three-time All-Star (as of Thursday night) could be an unrestricted free agent this summer if he opts-out of the final year of his deal with the Toronto Raptors, and since it’s been reported that he wants to play basketball in Los Angeles, many fans have already begun to connect the dots and speculate about Leonard’s return home.

Unfortunately, though, this news probably doesn’t mean a thing.

Numerous NBA players — and many other professional athletes, for that matter — have had homes in California for years, and have never played so much as a game for an LA-based team. LeBron James is a bad example since he now plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, but he’s owned a residence in Brentwood since 2015. It’s a very common destination for superstars to spend their off-seasons.

Since Leonard is originally from Riverside, it makes plenty of sense why he’d purchase a new place in SoCal. Maybe he wants to live closer to his family, or maybe he just wants an escape from the harsh temperatures that Toronto brings each day (it’s supposed to be 23 degrees there today).

Still though, one can’t help but wonder if Leonard has other intentions. As of December 13, the LA Clippers were still favored to be Leonard’s next destination this July. Could he be sending signals  that he plans to spend the next portion of his career playing for his hometown team? Or is the New Balance-clad superstar simply looking for a place to vacation?

We can’t say just yet, but it’d be foolish to assume that Leonard is already planning his escape so far in advance.