According to the latest rumors, Kawhi Leonard’s camp may be testing the LA Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers to see which team he can trust more.
Kawhi Leonard‘s free agency decision has the NBA world in shambles. It has been only two days since free agency first kicked off, and fans from all over the League are demanding answers. It seems the Twitter world gravitates toward anything they can get their hands on regarding an update on the two-way star. However, according to rumors, Leonard’s camp and himself want silence and less media confusion. It seems that they are testing three teams — including the LA Clippers — in strategy of who can not leak information about their meetings.
What we “know” is that meetings have occurred with Leonard. The Clippers and Lakers have both reportedly talked to him about his pending free agency. Later today, the Raptors are expected to make their pitch as well, according to ESPN’s Jordan Schultz.
From numerous reports from Marc Stein from the New York Times, we can see that Kawhi wants quiet. This should be no surprise, it’s been how he has rolled his entire NBA career, on and off the court. Rarely using social media, and adopting slight verbiage for proving points in post-game interviews.
In the latest reports, it sounds as though Leonard and his surrounding people are playing the trust game: Whoever can keep their mouths shut and secure the deal as privately as possible will win him.
With that, it seems as though the Raptors and Clippers have succeeded much greater than the Lakers, as their reporters seem to be leaking their information all over twitter. Notice that the Lakers believe they are solely in the lead for Kawhi, as Magic Johnson and LeBron James led the recruiting efforts. The Clippers haven’t released anything about their status revolving around free agent Leonard, instead they are solemn in considering any public media outlet at all.
In Kawhi’s final meeting of free agency, the Raptors could reel him in to coming back to Toronto. However, the Clippers presentation was solidified under closed doors and could be a breaking point in signing Kawhi as that day would be marked in Clipper history forever. He could shape the league into something better, as well as for the better of the NBA competition.
Regardless of what ends up happening with Leonard, the LA Clippers have put themselves in a good position to continue competing while simultaneously building for the future.