Things are going well for Kawhi Leonard in Toronto, but he hasn’t given up on the idea of playing in Los Angeles, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said during a broadcast today that focused on trade and free agency rumors. (Hat tip to Real GM.)
Leonard’s desire to return to his home town and his refusal to commit to a long-term deal after this season were the main reasons the Spurs decided to trade him away during the summer. Leonard is considered certain to opt out of his $21.3MM salary for next season and become a free agent in July.
The Raptors, who are off to a 23-8 start, worked out a deal in hopes that a successful season could convince Leonard to stay in Toronto, but Wojnarowski suggests that may not be enough.
“They can’t change the geography. They can’t change the weather in Toronto. Those were always be things against them in this,” he said. “Home and L.A. has been the focus for Kawhi Leonard through all of this.”
The Lakers and Clippers should both have enough cap space to offer max contracts next summer, but there have been reports that Leonard doesn’t want to accept a supporting role to LeBron James. That makes the Clippers the favorites if Leonard decides to leave Toronto, and they have been acting the part with a visible contingent at many of the Raptors’ games, including president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank.
“They’re treating this like a college recruitment,” Wojnarowski added. “… To have the president of the organization show up in Toronto, in Milwaukee, just sitting there, players are seeing him. … It’s a unique way they’re going about this.”
I think the lebron thing is overblown if lebron says to kawhi your gonna be the guy and i can work off the ball lakers roster looks better than tobias harris and? That roster has little playoff credentials and if kawhi ultimate goal is to win titles lakers have a better shot. I think lakers have 4 targets they are looking at so even if one doesnt pan put one of them has a chance of going there.
Except for the fact that Lebron would never say that! Besides that nice try
Why would LeBron play off ball? He’s one of the most dominant and dynamic playmakers in the history of the game
For once I wish we could hear what he actually thinks. It’s always someone speculating, or family blathering. This is not news, this is copy past all this last summers speculation.
Kawhi won’t play with LeBron. Lowry’s numbers are down when he plays with Kawhi. Kawhi was just out for 2 games and Lowry scored 25 points in both games. Kawhi just came back and Lowry sat. Kawhi and LeBron won’t work.
For AD, I just used the ESPN trade machine to see if a trade could be made using salaries as of July 1, 2019 for the Lakers and Pelicans. To get AD the Lakers would have to give up Ingram, Hart, Kuzma, Lonzo, and Wagner to match salaries. Without including LeBron, it’s the only way it could happen. No team will step in as a 3rd partner to help the Lakers get AD.
Toronto’s last 4 games: Loss to Bucks-Kawhi 20 pts, Lowry didn’t score Win against Clippers-Lowry 23 pts, Kawhi out Win against Golden State-Lowry 21 pts, Kawhi out Loss to Trailblazers-Kawhi 26 pts, Lowry out Looks fishy.
I was thinking the same thing about Giannis & MIL after MIL & CLE played twice in a week. MIL played better with Middleton than Giannis.
Milwaukee played one bad game against the Pacers. All teams play bad in back to backs.
Does ANYONE want to play w/ Bron Bron? Wow, never heard of a superstar that couldn’t get anyone to play with him. LA signed all these 1 year players. Who are they gonna recruit? KD obviously won’t play with Bron. Kawai won’t. Jimmy Butler? Meh… Kyrie already demanded a trade to get away from Bron.
They probably won’t recruit a 3.
There hasn’t even been an offseason since they signed him, what superstar free agents are available in December?
He;s talking about Kyrie, Kawhi, Kevin Durant, and in Kevin Durant’s article they talked to 15 players.
Including players who literally chose his team or has said they would in the past.
Any time a star shows up, everyone else gets less shots. Except Irving, who took more with James than without.
I guess you don’t follow Kyrie anymore or you don’t know s–t about Kyrie.
Have LeBron and Kawhi rotate; each player could almost skip every other game. The Lakers would win all the time with a well rested Kawhi or LeBron playing every night. For games against playoffs teams you play both players 24 mins each. Once they reach the playoffs it’s go time.
Not at $35mm a year.
Ask the Warriors if they are fine with their investments.
David West just said last week that he thinks Durant will resign with the Warriors. He said KD really likes the San Francisco area and lives with a view of the Golden State Bridge and the Atlantic Ocean. He owns businesses there. They took him on a tour of the Chase Bank construction site. He likes winning.
He likes Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, Steve Kerr too. He wants a 5 year max and only the Warriors can give it to him. He has made it clear he doesn’t want to play with LeBron. Klay isn’t going anywhere.
The Warriors owner and gm said they’ll give Durant whatever he wants. The San Francisco mayor has said he’ll do anything that needs to be done.
So what’s your point Laker Bron hater! It’s not July 1st 2019 yet!
If the Lakers traded all those players “if” the Pelicans decided to trade AD, AD and LeBron would be the only players they have. You think of me as a LeBron hater. I think of me as a Kyrie, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Steph lover. I along with all the Celtic and Warriors fans have a constitutional right to be this way! I guess you didn’t read about KD saying he doesn’t want to play with LeBron. It was the biggest sports story this past week. I wonder how many millions of people read it.
Ptn- Pick a couple frontrunners, one from each conference, to be your favorites. Very snake in the grass.
If he says Durant will resign enough it will come true.
dude, if someone has a view of the golden gate and and the Atlantic ocean…well the entire US midwest just got nuked into oblivion.
Got me! He lives in a high rise in San Francisco with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Pacific Ocean. Whenever someone comes over, he said last week that he makes them watch game film of Michael Jordan.
Doesn’t matter anyway.
Don’t think he has a view of the Atlantic Ocean….
If he can see the Golden Gate Bridge and the “Atlantic Ocean” he must have a really tall house and very good eyes!
That would never… ever… EVER happen.
Toronto is a great city, they also have a special team right now. This is really unfortunate, these divas that just pick where they wanna play… who they wanna play with. Free agency is the worst thing that ever happened to pro sports. Getting stacks of millions to play a game isn’t enough I suppose.
No free agency? Right, give the owners absolute control, they draft you, they own you for life.
So you’re saying if you were the best in the world at something you would be fine being forced to live somewhere you don’t want to? These guys worked hard their entire life to get here while you whine about them having basic freedoms online.
This “game” is their job, no one’s paying $500 to watch you hoop with your buddies.
Kuzma isn’t going anywhere. He’s probably the only real untouchable young guy if there FO is being honest. I could c Lonzo in a package for AD and would actually like to c them get Kemba. I think he’d b a great fit with LeBron
Anyone considered Lakers are in 4th place 1/3 of the way through the season? And we lost the first 3? And 1.5 out of first? And BI and Rondo out? Do we need anyone? I watch almost every Laker game. Even when they sucked the last 5 years. I could see why you wouldn’t want to play with Kobe…as Metta World Peace once said when hitting a playoff winning shot, “Kobe pass me the ball…he never pass me the ball”. LBJ is a much better guy to play with. I’m actually surprised by how much he passes and moves the ball. And I don’t think they need anyone.
Wouldn’t surprise me one bit if Kawhi already has an agreed upon contract with Magic Johnson in place to join the lakers. Seems inevitable at this point. A little wink wink hand shake under the table agreement
“Leonard’s desire to return to his home town and his refusal to commit to a long-term deal after this season were the main reasons the Spurs decided to trade him away during the summer.”
No. His refusal to report to camp or ever resign with the Spurs, were the only reasons they traded him.
There will be a lot of AD to LAL trade rumors in the months ahead. . . it will take to July to resolve probably. The playoffs may be affected even if the Pels don’t make it (as is quite possible).
Ptn’s position that Earvin will not trade youth for AD will be hard to hang on to through it all, esp being wrong.
For a LAL/NOP trade this year, with no veteran expirings used, all 7 LAL youngsters would be needed! lol The Pels’ taking Beasley & 1 or 2 firsts instead of Hart & Svi makes more sense though.
(AD for Ball, Ingram, Kuzma, Moritz, Bonga, Beasley & a r1.)
(Earlier I left out Beasley & Bonga because they’re just salary and Ptn went off.)
For LA, with a star 3, AD makes more sense than Durant or Leonard, and Bledsoe won’t break the bank.
AD will have a short window to decide. Mirotic and Randle decisions will also bear.
By “short window” I mean his career’s best option may be sifting out June ’19.
As we have been saying, but you won’t listen. New Orleans “””will not”” trade AD until he declines his option and says he will not resign with them. They won’t trade him until after he gets his offer on July 1, 2019. At that time AD will be making $27mm. It would take Ingram, Kuzma, Lonzo, Hart, and Wagner making $23mm to meet the matching requirements.
the ESPN guys talk to Magic and the players all the time. They have media passes. They do pregame and postgame interviews. I’m glad you know more than they do. If you can’t deal with Woj, and Sharania, you have a serious problem. They would blow you off. I should.
After what Durant just said to millions of readers like me about LeBron, we know not to take you seriously.
Woj, Sharania, and Ramona Shelbourne (she talked to Kawhi) have said he prefers the Clippers then Toronto. Then again you would know better than they would.
If you actually watch the segment with Woj, he just reiterates what has been said since the summer. This doesn’t seem to be based on any new information. Not sure why it’s being presented as a new development.
He was likely encouraged to. Not sure why the Laker FO felt the need to put out so many stories regarding all the great things on, and about to be on, their roster simply because they couldn’t consummate a deal for mid-30s SF they wanted on a rental basis. A high profile FO playing the PR game isn’t new (it’s not what happened, but how it should be looked at).