On Friday, rumors went flying about the LA Clippers maybe no longer being the favorites to roster Kawhi Leonard for the upcoming 2021-2022 season.
According to @TheSteinLine, it is 'no longer a safe assumption' Kawhi Leonard is staying with the Clippers
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 23, 2021
The Mavericks, Knicks and Heat are expected to show interest in Kawhi Leonard
(h/t @TopBallCoverage ) pic.twitter.com/VhKU0m4rmG
Leonard always seems to be quiet about the future, and what his plans are. When rumors sparked about him potentially not being happy with the Clippers’ medical staff, talks flared up about him leaving.
One of the best NBA insiders in basketball, Adrian Wojnarowski, doesn’t see eye to eye with that, however. Wojnarowski has been hinting that Leonard is here to stay for a while now. He reaffirmed that likelihood once again on Sunday.
Wojnarowski isn’t sold by the rumors hinting that Kawhi Leonard is serious about leaving the LA Clippers.
Somebody as trusted around the league as Wojnarowski being skeptical about these rumors surrounding Kawhi Leonard ditching the LA Clippers needs to be taken seriously.
“I’ve gotten NO indication that Kawhi Leonard is interested in doing anything but re-signing with the Clippers.”
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) July 25, 2021
- via @wojespn pic.twitter.com/KDeXyoEDdt
‘Woj’ has been on this for a while, and made it clear that he didn’t believe Leonard would be leaving as long as the Clips saw an early playoff exit again.
Wojnarowski has cited that he also has received the impression that Kawhi has a good relationship with Clippers Head Coach Ty Lue.
If somebody as plugged in as Woj hasn’t heard anything that makes him feel that Kawhi is interested in leaving the Clippers, that’s probably the reality.
All the rest of the reports basically had just been saying that other teams are going to push for him. That’s pretty obvious, though. Why would other teams not be interested in arguably the best player in basketball?
While LA still needs to do their due diligence and make Kawhi feel like priority number one of the franchise, there’s simply no need for Clipper fans to panic.
The Clips will 100% be championship contenders if Kawhi comes back, and that will be plenty attractive to him. Not to mention he owns a condo across the street from Staples along with two other homes in Southern California (one of them also being in LA).
Kawhi will absolutely be a Clipper next year. Let’s just hope he picks up his option so there’s no need to even entertain any other idea.