LA Clippers free agent target Kawhi Leonard didn’t make a decision on July 4, but rumors are circulating that he may do so on July 5.
We start off the sixth day of free agency the same way every other LA Clippers fan started the rest of the days this week: Checking all of the Twitter notifications on our phones, and then checking them again once more, just to see if we missed any Kawhi Leonard news while we were sleeping. And like every other day, there’s been nothing to miss. It’s still dead silent. But according to new rumors, the waiting may come to an end very soon.
According to Fox Sports 1’s Cris Carter (who has gotten a considerable amount of things right about Leonard’s free agency, and also a considerable amount of things wrong), Leonard’s decision is believed to be coming today.
It’s still unknown which team Leonard will choose to join this offseason. There have been rumors connecting him to each the LA Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors, and there are reasons why he would consider each one, but there has been no indication in regards to which way he’s leaning — at least, not from reputable sources.
Each of the three teams can offer Leonard something different. The Raptors, the incumbent team, are seen to be slight favorites over the Los Angeles teams given he just won a title with them this past season. Toronto will also be returning all of their most important players for at least another season, including Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka and Fred VanVleet.
The Raptors can also offer Leonard the most money, if he signs the full five-year max with the franchise. His deal with Toronto would then be worth $190 million, while the most money he could sign for with either Los Angeles team would be $141 million.
The Lakers can offer Leonard the opportunity to form one of the greatest (if not the greatest) trios in the history of basketball and essentially a free ticket to the NBA Finals. And while the Lakers do sound the most appealing from a pure winning standpoint, the rest of the things that would come with joining Los Angeles and forming that trio don’t seem to mesh with Leonard’s personality.
Leonard doesn’t care for being a star or having the spotlight. He just wants to win. And yes, the Lakers offer the best chance to do so — but the added headache may keep him from choosing them.
That leaves the Clippers, who have largely been left out of the conversation despite doing almost everything right this offseason. LA has signed quality supporters in Patrick Beverley, Maurice Harkless and Rodney McGruder while maintaining enough space for Leonard. And if you look at the Clippers’ roster, it’s easy to see that it was intentionally built to be a supporting squad for Leonard. Most players on the team are gritty, two-way players with a strong will to win — much like he is. There’s but one role on the roster that’s yet to be filled, and that’s the one that’s been made specifically with Leonard in mind.
The Clippers don’t have another star they can pair with Leonard, which is arguably the biggest fault that LA has in this race. That being said, they’ve been stockpiling assets that they could trade for a disgruntled star (i.e. Bradley Beal) once the season begins, and by the time Leonard’s four-year deal would be nearing its end, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could very well evolve into that secondary star role.
If Leonard does end up choosing today, it will be a decision that breaks the hearts of at least two fan bases and could determine the future of the NBA. But even if it’s not the LA Clippers, it’s clear they’re going to fight hard to repeat some of that same magic they had last season.