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Los Angeles Lakers: What if Kawhi Leonard signed with them last summer?

By Zane Harris

TORONTO, ON - MARCH 14: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors dribbles the ball as LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers defends during the second half of an NBA game at Scotiabank Arena on March 14, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - MARCH 14: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors dribbles the ball as LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers defends during the second half of an NBA game at Scotiabank Arena on March 14, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /
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How would the Los Angeles Lakers look for the next few years if Kawhi Leonard decided to sign with them over the Clippers?

Going into the 2019 offseason, the Lakers were seemingly the frontrunners to be the team that signed Kawhi Leonard. This would have given the team arguably the best big three of all time of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Kawhi Leonard.

I decided to go into NBA 2k20 and run a simulation to see what would happen if the Lakers were to sign Kawhi. I took control of the Lakers and made the trade for Anthony Davis and signed Kawhi. After that I let the simulation take control and simulated three seasons to see what would happen. I also redid the entire 2019 free agency class and will be keeping note of where the star players ended up signing and the league was completely changed from just one decision.

2019-2020 Season

We will begin by looking at how the draft ended up going. Before the draft, the Lakers still traded Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and three first-round picks for Anthony Davis.

At the lottery, the Phoenix Suns, Atlanta Hawks, and Cleveland Cavaliers had the top three picks respectively. The Suns chose Ja Morant, the Hawks chose Jarrett Culver, the Cavs chose R.J. Barrett, and the Hawks who also had the fourth pick lucked into Zion Williamson.

The Pelicans would select Jaxson Hayes with the Lakers pick. The Lakers signed Kawhi to a one-year 32.70 million dollar deal with a player option for the second year. Some other big signings that occurred were Kevin Durant going to the 76ers, Jimmy Butler joining Trae Young and Zion on the Hawks, Kyrie Irving going to the Clippers, and Kemba Walker going to the Jazz.

The Lakers re-signed Alex Caruso and Rajon Rondo. They filled out the rest of their roster with Wilson Chandler, J.R. Smith, Shaun Livingston, Troy Perkins, Alex Abrines, Nicolo Melli, and Juan Carlos-Munoz.

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he Lakers were ranked the consensus number one team in the preseason power rankings and boasted a starting five of Rajon Rondo, J.R. Smith, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis. The first five off the bench are Kyle Kuzma, Nicolo Melli, Shaun Livingston, Wilson Chandler, and Alex Caruso.

All members of the big 3 were named to the All-Star team. Kawhi and LeBron were All-Star starters while AD was a reserve. At the end of season one, the Lakers finished with a record of 61-21. Steph Curry was the leagues MVP, Zion won rookie of the year, Serge Ibaka won 6th man of the year, Anthony Davis won Defensive Player of the Year, Luke Kennard won Most Improved Player, and Mike D’antoni won Coach of the Year.

Kawhi made the All-NBA first team as well as the All-Defensive first team. Anthony Davis made the All-NBA second team and All-Defensive first team. While LeBron made the All-NBA second team.

The Lakers finished as the first seed in the western conference and matched up against the Denver Nuggets in the first round. The Lakers came back from a 2-0 series deficit to win the series in 7 games.

They played Ja Morant, Devin Booker, and the Phoenix Suns in the second round. They beat the Suns in a five-game gentleman’s sweep. They matched up against Chris Paul, James Harden, and the Houston Rockets in the conference semifinals. They beat the Rockets in a hard-fought 7-game series to matchup against a Kevin Durant led Philadelphia 76ers.

This series also went to seven games. LeBron was named finals MVP with an average in the finals of 28.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 11.2 assists. For the entire playoffs, Kawhi averaged 26.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.7 steals a game. Anthony Davis averaged 22.5 points, 13.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 3.0 blocks a game. Lastly, LeBron averaged 22.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 1.1 steals a game.

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