Los Angeles Clippers: You should be worried about Kawhi Leonard
By Jason Reed
For many, many months now the Los Angeles Clippers have been pushed as the consensus favorite for Kawhi Leonard and now things are getting nervewracking.
The Los Angeles Clippers have had a lot of anticipation heading into this summer. After some savvy moves by the front office, which includes the man that built the Warriors, Jerry West, the Clippers opened enough space to realistically sign two max guys this summer.
That continued to be the narrative for the team even as they were shocking everyone and competing for a playoff spot this season. Many expected the Clippers to be terrible in the season leading up to this summer but instead, they made the playoffs and even took two games against the Golden State Warriors.
That success only hammered home the point that the Clippers were one of the teams to watch this summer and that they would end up with something special. The biggest connection was to Kawhi Leonard, who has Southern California roots, as well as Kevin Durant.
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Durant suffered a torn Achilles in the NBA Finals and seems much more likely to sign with the Brooklyn Nets than the Clippers, so Leonard has evolved into the main focus for the Clippers. The only problem is that more positive reports have surfaced about the Clippers’ competition than the Clippers themselves.
It was first reported when Leonard denied his player option for next season with the Toronto Raptors that he was seriously considering re-signing with the team that he just won the NBA Finals with. That’ll happen when you exceed expectations and especially when the NBA looks wide open next season.
If that wasn’t enough, the Los Angeles Lakers have joined the fray as well. After everyone expected the Lakers to be a longshot fit for Leonard, he now is, once again, “seriously considering” joining up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Some fans might make the argument that Leonard is not the type of player to sign with a super team and wants to earn things his way. That might be true in some regard, but the idea of creating a team that has three players in the top six or seven most talented is something that has to be intriguing for Leonard.
Either way, Clipper fans should absolutely be taking all of these reports seriously and shouldn’t get married to the idea of Leonard being a Clipper. And if you are already married to that idea, divorce it. It will only lead to a broken heart.
This does not mean that Leonard is for-sure not going to be a Clipper but both the Lakers and Raptors provide good opportunities for him. As of right now, before the Clippers make any other moves, both teams provide a more likely chance to win the title.
The Raptors obviously did just that and Leonard is already familiar with the city and is comfortable with his teammates. The Lakers have two players that could legitimately make the All-NBA First-Team in the same year.
Yes, the Clippers can easily make the moves to be a contender with Kawhi and would be a contender with Kawhi. But as the foundations currently stand, the Lakers and Raptors provide more answers than questions.
At the end of the day, we might just end up filing these reports in the bin of NBA reports that never come true. Obviously, two of these three teams are going to miss out on Leonard.
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At the same time, there is a realistic possibility that the Los Angeles Clippers don’t get Leonard, which should be very worrisome, as the team could come up empty-handed as a result.