LA Clippers Rumors: Kawhi Leonard Clamored for a Point Guard
On Friday’s episode of First Take, Stephen A. Smith dropped the rumor that LA Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard was pushing for a point guard.
Is it a true rumor, or is it just Stephen A. Smith saying what fans of the LA Clippers have been saying for a while? Who can say.
Either way, on First Take on Friday, Stephen A. claimed that Kawhi Leonard is pushing for the team to acquire a point guard.
The relevant discussion starts at the beginning of the video, where Smith says
"“They clearly need a point guard. Everybody knows it and Kawhi Leonard privately has clamored for one. It’s not that he wants them to get rid of Patrick Beverley, but Patrick Beverley is basically a defensive ace who’s too, who’s small and has to play opposing guards. So they need a point guard that can run a team and can shoot.Patrick Beverley is that defensive energizer bunny that comes off the bench to do it for you. Kawhi Leonard is clamoring for that.”"
On the one hand, it seems a little unlikely that Stephen A. Smith is connected enough with Kawhi to know what he’s privately clamoring for.
On the other hand, Leonard has had a loud voice with the LA Clippers, with regards to roster construction. He was the one who pushed for the team to make the blockbuster Paul George trade as a condition of him signing, so it’s not totally out of character for him to push for how the team should improve moving forward.
In this case, it’s hard to disagree with Kawhi, no matter how you feel about his thoughts on how the roster should look.
Kawhi’s always had a great point guard alongside him, whether Tony Parker or Kyle Lowry. Last year was the first time he was expected to be the initiator of the offense for the majority of the game, and he may not have found it to be the best situation for him.
As fans, we’ve been clamoring for a playmaker for a while, but the free agency market for point guards is pretty slim this year. A significant initiator of the offense would have to be acquired via a trade.
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If the LA Clippers do dip their toes into the point guard trade market, you can read all about it here on Clipperholics, or follow along on Twitter and Facebook.