Los Angeles Lakers: Kawhi Leonard is nothing but smoke and mirrors
By Jason Reed
NBA free agency has officially begun and due to the reports leading up to the chaos, some Los Angeles Lakers fans are hopeful for Kawhi Leonard.
The Los Angeles Lakers are locked and loaded for NBA free agency as the league officially enters what will go down as one of the craziest free agent periods in recent league history.
Not only are there a lot of premier, max superstars available this summer, but the free agent class is as deep as it has ever been. From superstars like Kevin Durant all the way down to bench role players, every team has a lot of options to consider this offseason.
No team is going to be watched more than the Los Angeles Lakers. Everyone knew that the team was bound to do something huge this summer with LeBron James chasing a fourth ring and the team has already made the biggest trade in quite some time by trading for Anthony Davis.
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Now, with some financial maneuvering, the Lakers have enough cap space to bring in another max superstar. The team does have a roster it needs to build out, as the team only has four players on the roster, but there is potential to create a scary big four with LeBron, Davis, Kyle Kuzma and whoever the team adds.
Some think that the fourth could end up being the biggest healthy fish in the market this summer, none other than Kawhi Leonard. Leonard has been more connected to the Los Angeles Clippers leading up to this summer but talks of him having interest in the Lakers have intensified heading into free agency.
That has led some fans to imagine a super team that has Leonard, LeBron and Davis all on the court at the same time. On paper, that would go down as one of the most talented teams of all time with three players all in the top-six of the most talent.
Fans should reserve getting attached to that fantasy, though, as the reports surrounding Leonard will ultimately be smoke and mirrors. With connections to the Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Clippers and now the New York Knicks, there are going to be three teams that are left out.
The Los Angeles Lakers are going to be one of those teams.
Whether these are Laker-friendly reports that are being overblown because of the team’s scheduled meeting or something that was leaked to increase Leonard’s value, it seems very unlikely that Leonard would actually prefer to play with the Lakers.
If he was going to come to Los Angeles, knowing his personality, he likely would end up with the Clippers. Not only do the Clippers present an opportunity to play with Kevin Durant but the Clippers do not present a situation in which he is coming into “LeBron’s team”.
Because whether or not he was the best player on the court, this would still be LeBron’s team, even with Anthony Davis. Heck, with the two, it might be viewed as Klutch Sport’s team, with Kawhi’s quiet personality becoming second-fiddle.
The whirlwind of media coverage and blame that gets associated with being LeBron’s teammate is something that absolutely clashes with Leonard’s personality type. It is hard to get excited to play for a team where you would be the third option and likely the scapegoat if anything went wrong.
Next. Russell would be better than signing a max contract. dark
Yes, he would be on a contending team, but any team that Leonard signs with is going to be a contending team. With that in mind and considering Leonard’s personality, it is clear that the Los Angeles Lakers are not as good of a fit as the fans probably want to admit.