It only lasted five days, but it seemed much, much longer at the time. In a summer where many of the NBA’s top free agents announced their agreements suspiciously close to the official start of free agency, Kawhi Leonard‘s decision seemed to linger forever.
While we all waited, the rumor mill got wacky. First came reports that he was definitely joining the Lakers, followed by other reports that he was definitely staying with the Raptors. The Clippers were presented as an afterthought and were rumored to be out of consideration. Intrepid reporters tracked a flight from Los Angeles to Toronto without knowing for sure that Leonard was on board. And Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter somehow became an NBA insider.
Tension was high all week for the three teams involved in the chase as other free agents came off the board. When Leonard announced his decision late on the night of June 5, there was jubilation at Clippers headquarters and severe disappointment across town and throughout Canada.
Hard feelings in the Lakers’ camp led to accusations that Leonard had “played” them in the process. There were also reports that he asked for extreme considerations from the Raptors before abandoning an organization that had just won its first NBA title. The grumblings grew so loud that Leonard felt compelled to address them at his introductory press conference this week.
“I didn’t lead anyone on,” he said. “I took my time in free agency, as I should, to make sure I made the best decision for myself and my family. I feel like some of the media coverage over it made it feel that way, with people saying I’m signing with Toronto 99 percent or I’m going to the Lakers 99 percent. I don’t ever want to have that bad karma come back on me trying to make the Lakers miss out on players they should have gotten or vice-versa with the Raptors.”
Leonard added that all the teams were free to change their strategy if they thought waiting was too risky.
“If they didn’t want to wait for me, they didn’t have to,” Leonard said. “They had a big opportunity to sign me. [The Lakers] were close, but I ended up on the other side.”
Leonard isn’t the first free agent to take his time in reaching a decision. In 2016, Kevin Durant waited until July 4 to announce that he was joining the Warriors. A year later, Gordon Hayward picked the same date to confirm his agreement with the Celtics. LeBron James took until July 11 before releasing the Sports Illustrated article proclaiming his return to Cleveland in 2014.
We want to get your opinion on Leonard. Do you believe he did anything to intentionally hurt the Raptors or Lakers in free agency or is this just sour grapes from the teams that didn’t sign him? Please leave your responses in the space below.
I don’t see what motive he would even have to intentionally lead on other teams. It’s just a bunch of made up drama and some bitter people.
Well said.
Not pretending I have any clue whether or not he actually lead teams on but do you really not see the competitive advantage in telling your future teams rival (The Lakers) that you’re interested in signing with them so that they hold all of their cap space for you. That’s what happened – the Lakers wouldn’t spend money on other players until Kawhi made up his mind. I’m not blaming Kawhi for anything here because A. We don’t (and won’t) know if it was his goal to lead the Lakers on, holding their cap space hostage and B. The Laker’s didn’t have to wait for Kawhi, they could have just given up on him after he didn’t choose them on day 1 and spent their money on their top free-agent targets. That being said, to say that you don’t see a motive for Kawhi to lead the Lakers on and convince them he might sign doesn’t make sense to me.
Lakers are acting like a broad who had a one night stand and mad she never got a call back.
I don’t think Kawhi was being disingenuous. He wanted to play on a winner at home, but ideally not with the circus that would follow the Lakers (so he had to wait for PG) . From Chris Haynes’ interview though, it seemed like geography trumped everything. Not sure if the Raps really had a chance (nor would any other American city for that matter)
I also contend that Magic going out and talking about his meeting with Kawhi didn’t help any. Kawhi wanted teams to be silent. Magic, although not an official member of the FO at the time, is connected enough with the Lakers that it almost felt like a team official talking in an official capacity.
The Raps were quieter, and I do think it was mostly the weather there that Kawhi was concerned about (though I don’t know if the media literally following his plane and then entourage helped much.. but not much the Raps can do about that).
Clippers on the final hand? Quite as a mouse throughout the entire process. Easy decision for Kawhi, especially when they got PG13.
With due respect to Kawhi, he flew in on mlse’s plane in the middle of the day. He had to know there was a chance that it would draw some attention ( in hindsight, I think he relished a bit of attention and love here in Toronto before he left. He wouldn’t have sat in the stands at a jays game, gone to Niagara Falls etc if he didn’t want some attention before he left). Ultimately, he got to go home and play on a great organization with a good team. Things worked out well for him
We will never fully understand what went on with this whole situation. We won’t know for sure whether or to what extent the Lakers got ‘played.’ We also won’t know whether or to what extent these ‘extreme considerations’ were a factor on the Raptors side of the equation. These reports could be media-driven conjecture, they could be true, or they could be partially accurate. If we take these reports at face value, however, the Lakers could be perceived as being sour about the situation because they had every ability to not hold out for Leonard’s decision and sign other free agents – Kawhi is correct in saying so. We obviously won’t know whether holding out was a ploy on Kawhi’s part to hinder the Lakers free agency efforts (and regardless, smart move by Kawhi if it was intentional and within the rules) but we do know that each party (Lakers and Kawhi) had a choice to make on whether or not to hold out and if the Lakers think they got the short end of the stick then they should have chosen better. On the Raptors side of the equation, if Kawhi’s camp did ask for ‘extreme considerations’ then the Raptors front office has every right to be upset (assuming the reports are true, as previously stated) because it’s against the rules. I’m not sure Kawhi even had a huge effect on the other moves the Raptors planned on making this offseason anyways – besides retaining Danny Green – as they are pretty much capped out and likely would have added similar pieces to what they ended up adding in the end anyways. I don’t see sour grapes from the Raptors perspective, I think they have a right to be upset if what’s being reported is true.
As a Raptors fan, I don’t think any of us can be upset at whatever he did or did not ask for. Had MLSE given Kawhi 10 planes, 5 mansions and the cn tower, we still would’ve been thrilled if he signed. The result was disappointing (though the title is awesome) but speaking against the process would be hypocritical.
I should have clarified – I don’t think the Raptors have a right to be upset about the final decision to play for the Clippers rather than the Raptors but I do think they have a right to be upset about his demands if they violated the rules of the league. Maybe MLSE wasn’t willing to concede “10 planes, 5 mansions and the cn tower” (I understand the hyperbole in your listings) and that right there is the problem. They shouldn’t have to give into rule violating demands in order to retain a player. They also can’t as it would be rule-breaking on their end as well. And if a player/a player’s camp requests things that violate the rules laid out in the Collective Bargaining Agreement then there should be repercussions, regardless of Kawhi’s final decision. Kawhi’s final decision to play for the Clippers isn’t pertinent in this conversation.
Fair enough. Ultimately, who knows what (if anything) was really asked for. Both the Spurs and the Raps had a financial advantage in the magnitude of millions and Kawhi left. Could uncle Dennis really have received significantly more and kept it hidden (maybe, I suppose)
I agree with your statement regarding what was asked for. We will never know what it was (if anything). However, the Raptors only really had an advantage over the Clippers and Lakers in that they could offer a few extra million per year (around 4 million I believe) – that means that the Clippers/Lakers could still offer just under 90% of what the Raptors could. That’s still a lot of money to miss out on, don’t get me wrong, but it wouldn’t have the same effect on someone like Kawhi as it would on you and me and I’d say it’s pretty negligable in the grand scheme of of his financial security. The Raptors, Clippers, and Lakers could all offer 4 years. The Spurs certainly had an advantage in that they could offer a 5th year and about 10 million more dollars annually than the Clippers/Lakers on a maximum contract – I agree with you there. Given the contract he ended up signing with the Clippers though, it seems guaranteed salary (via additional guaranteed seasons on the contract) wasn’t his primary objective because he chose to sign for 3 years with a player option in the last year instead of the same salary over 4 guaranteed years (which the Clippers could have provided). The contract he signed sets him up to become eligible for the super-max deal worth 35% of the salary cap which occurs when a player has appeared in 10+ seasons in the NBA. After playing for the Clippers for the next two seasons Kawhi will likely decline the 3rd year player option on his contract and sign the 10+ year super-max contract for 35% of the salary cap which would help recoup a substansial portion of what was lost by declining the Spurs maximum offer. Lebron and Durant are two others that didn’t value guaranteed money (albeit seemingly to maintain freedom to change teams rather than maximize future earnings) as they continuously signed 1-year contracts until their most recent deals – something that only the top players in the league can afford to do. I don’t know how Uncle Dennis could have kept this hidden but it doesn’t mean that something untoward wasn’t requested from Kawhi’s camp. As I stated earlier these reports could all be media driven conjecture, they could be partially accurate, or they could be the absolute truth.
If the Clippers didn’t get PG he’d be a Laker right now. He played them as his backup plan. His uncle asking the Lakers to delay the AD trade to buy himself some time was the shadiest part.
My take he kind of played the Lakers, LeBron was waiting to form a super team like the Warriors! He wanted to win 3 more championships. They traded away some young players to Washington to get kawhi in Salary cap. Kevin and Kyrie told him they are not coming to LA.but New York. We found out that he was trying to recruit Jimmy, Kyrie, and Paul as well as Kevin to play with him. Kawhi all LeBron all practice together during the summer! He wanted his own super team and compete against LeBron. LeBron needed a chance to recruit quality role players after trading away quality players to acquire AD. Ever since Magic exposes the disgusting front office situation! LeBron is trying to dig himself out of a hole when Kawhi mislead him. Kawhi, you are a treacherous person! Kawhi, remember “time and foreseen things happen to all of us. The ball fell your way in 2019! Let’s see what 2020 has in store for the Clippers! This is my takeaway and let me hear your opinion! I admit I’m a LeBron fan!
Oh look… another salty laker fan. God it taste so good. Kawhi isn’t a “treacherous person” so, kindly cut that lie out. The only thing “treacherous” is the Lakers idiocy in waiting for Kawhi and missing out on the other opportunities to for the super team Bron wanted. Lakers got what they deserved for waiting.
I hope Lebron the baby never wins another chip same with Leonard they can stay in LA together also when did Paul George become a super star? He is a poor man’s derozan
By taking his time in choosing LAC, it caused LAL and TOR to have to sit out free agency therefore hurting them both in the process, while the Clips were a clear winner. Super smart for Kawhi and LAC, tough luck for both Toronto and the Lakers
Raps were capped out and could only re-sign their own players to significant deals. The haul that the clips gave up for PG suggests OKC really did keep rejecting offers till the end
As the other guy replied, Raps were capped out. And the Lakers made their own decision. They could have gone another route but decided Kawhi or bust. I don’t want to hear about fairness when the Lakers just shit on their own players for half a season.
Former Laker fan, I gotta say this whole situation just further proves Lakers fans are some of the worst and most annoying, classless, delusional fans in all of sports. Raptors fans aren’t claiming he led them on. He didn’t choose your team get over it, I get it you’re frustrated you haven’t been relevant since Kobe retired but don’t take it out on Kawhi.
Former fan? If your fandom is malleable thats just sad. You were showing love to Golden State so its clear you just hop on who the hot team is. Fans of other NBA teams have done far worse things like threaten players family. Yet somehow accusing a guy of waiting in free agency is worse than that. Shouldn’t call any fanbase bad when you hop teams like Peter Rabbit
Lmao you know nothing about me and sound like an idiot. I was a Lakers fan for over 20 years, I want to still be a fan but can no longer support Jeanie and the rest of the FO. I’ve made it known multiple times I don’t like the Warriors but when’s the last year they didn’t win the west? I’m not gonna say another team is the favorite cause it’s illogical. Throughout the playoffs I wanted every team the Warriors faced to beat them. And if you must know I’m now a fan of the Blazers. Word of advice if you don’t know what you’re talking about then don’t talk.
You quit being a fan because of Jeannie and the FO. That tells us all we need to know about you. Jeannie is not her dad but she has done nothing remotely close to bad enough to end fandom. You leave when Donald Sterling or Dolan is your owner. Not something for as small as whatever you think Jeannie did, thats just soft. And the front office landed 2 superstars in 2 years so idk what they did to piss you off but its just you being soft and dramatic. Laker nation doesn’t need babies
@thetruth12 this aint it man probably one of the worst take and responses i have ever seen on here. Don’t like jeanie and fo? Lmao, shes only been in control 2 seasons and had hold overs from her idiot brother. Of set bad contracts like mozgov and deng and just signed lebron and traded for ad. But if you wanna jump ship that fast you really weren’t a fan to begin with. Became a Blazer fan hahahaha probably never even been to portland.
He probably knew keeping the Lakers waiting will hurt them, so by taking his time he intentionally hurt the Lakers. However, it is probably is just a by product of him taking his time to make an important decision for his career and he probably didn’t take so long just to hurt the Lakers.
However, my personal guess is he only kept the Lakers and Raptors waiting because he is waiting for the Paul George trade and only viewed the other teams as back up plans and would only seriously consider them if the trade doesn’t happen
Wait: so your argument is that he both intentionally and unintentionally hurt the Lakers by waiting? Am I right on that?
If you define intentionally as him knowing taking his time would hurt the Lakers then he is intentional. But if you define intentionally as he did it just to hurt the Lakers then he is not intentional.
Con man, won’t win another title in his whole career? Sums him up nicely. He got lucky Klay got hurt and KD was out. Nice ride flavor of the month, you got paid. You swindled some teams. Go away, faux paid quiet guy.
What does “faux paid quiet guy” even mean. That doesn’t make sense. Even if he doesn’t win again this was his second title… and his second finals MVP. “Flavor” of the last half-decade would be a better way to put it.
Didn’t mean to post this so many times, I apologize.
Someone’s butt hurt
Kawhi ain’t that good, but above all is classless! Can anyone like this guy?
I like him. Great defensive player and can shoot well. To say he “ain’t that good” means you are either saltier than the oceans or just don’t watch enough basketball. Not sure what I’d argue either. Probably a combo of both.
Of course he delayed intentionally. What does Jerry West want more than anything in the Universe. Hint: To beat the Lakers. Somehow he and Kawhi had a chat and Jerry probably said, “If we can get you Paul George or James Harden, so you don’t have to play 3rd fiddle to James and Davis, would that get you here? We will move mountains if you want to come home and become the face of our organization for years to come.” Kawhi would likely have responded, “Heck yeah…” hyonk, hyonk, hyonk. “Looking coyly away form the Skype convo briefly, “Um, and Kawhi, can I count on your to take your time?” [pregnant pause] “Oh, oh, ohhhhhhh, I understand. Make it seem like we didn’t talk. Ooooo Kaaaaay.” hyonk, hyonk! “Yeah, that’s the reason Kawhi…”
Meanwhile, back at the batcave, Jerry scrambles to offer Indiana a truckload to guarantee that they cannot say no. He assembled the largest trade package in the history of the NBA! The Pacers eyes popped out of their collective heads and ‘Paul George who’, was all they could manage to mumble.
That trade for Paul George happened like 2 seconds after Kawhi agreed to sign with the Clips. Why not sign George first? Why did Kawhi sign if there was not a guarantee that George or Harden were coming? Conversely, why would George go to the Clips if Kawhi was not going to be there?
The reason is easy to deduce that they did know, and if they already knew, they knew he was NOT going to the Lakers or the Raptors! And if they already knew, the delay was to minimize the team the Lakers could put together because they are the direct competition in the new Battle of LA.
And to put a cherry on top, Ballmer just announced the design of a new sports stadium in Inglewood. Let’s assume that was part of the pitch too! Hyonk, hyonk, friggin, hyonk…
This is the LOGO we’re talking about, who scorned the Lakers for unspoken reasons by going to the Clips in the first place. If you think this coup was not designed, and that West and Ballmer don’t want to crush the Lakers and replace them as top dogs in LA, I’ve got an elevator pass for a one story building to sell ya’.
Or you’re as gullible as everyone else who believes that they were wronged.
Who were the Lakers going after? Honestly. Who was it that they were getting? They chose to put their chips into Kawhi and lost.
That’s what happened. Buying into any other conspiracy makes me wonder what other things you believe.
Your comment summarized: “You’re wrong, I’m right. If you say otherwise you are dumb.” How could you possibly know that the Lakers wouldn’t have gone after a player that signed with another team while they were waiting on Kawhi? Just throwing names out there because you asked: maybe they bring back D’Angelo Russell or maybe they sign Vucevic, Brogdon, or Bogdanovic, etc. to name a few. The Lakers likely wouldn’t have signed a different maximum salary player in lieu of Kawhi regardless of when he made his decision but they would have had a lot more options when determining who to spend their money on if Kawhi had made his decision to sign with the Clippers on day one or two of free agency (as many of the top free agents signed during this time period).
You must have forgotten that when Magic and Of links were put in charge, West wanted To be part of the Lakers again, it was told no thanks, since Magic and Rob didn’t want to have the credit for a Lake r turn around go to West. It was after that he joined the clippers, so Jerry was the one that got scorned by the Lakers.
I thought that he was going to sign with one of their teams? If the Lakers organization actually said Kawhi hurt them is true then they are straight up foolish. The number one underlying item in the whole story is about if it’s fair that Kawhi could do whatever he wanted, so no, of course I don’t believe that he did anything intentional to hurt the Lakers or Raptors. That couldn’t have happened.
It’s not the NBA who is hating on him, right? Maybe just LAL were mad that they don’t know how to nurture King James and then decide taking it out on a different subject?
the way the lakers operated they may have deserved what they didn’t get. good luck with aging mebron, ad and a bunch of nobodies.
Honestly. They gave up WAY too much for AD. I’m sure he’ll probably end up resigning after the season, but man… giving up almost the entire team for one player is either a really stupid move or a really gutsy one.
With Leonard, because of his personality, you never know what his decision is until he actually tells you his decision. I agree with his comments BUT if he really knew he wasn’t going to sign with Raptors or Lakers, should have told them so could move on.
It’s been said before: The Lakers had no obligation to wait for Kawhi. They could’ve moved on. In fact, if they had it might have forced Kawhi’s hand and forced him to decide sooner. BUT, they stupidly didn’t. They made their own bed. Kawhi had no obligation to tell them he was going sign elsewhere.
Looking at it from a broader perspective, hidsight being 20/20 you had to surmise it was always between the Lakers and Clippers.
Kawhi gave it his all to secure Toronto its first championship knowing full well if he was able to accomplish that feat it would really cement his exit.
If anything that hustle he showed in Toronto was a revelation of his character. In regards to his injury history he could have simply mailed it in to preserve himself for the following year. Instead he did everything possible taking the Raptors on his back to win one for Canada.
I think the effort the Clipps put into their pursuit of him all year, including the fine, paid off. He rewarded them by signing with them.
Look we all know kawhi isn’t that good of a player. He got a lot of hype because a pop coached team beat the super miami team, they had to give someone the mvp on the winning team despite being out played by lebron in all facets. Lebron averged 28 11 and 7 on 53 percent shooting while kawhi averaged 24 6 and 6 and 40 percent shooting….not close. This year he got gifted a chip without kd or klay or Iguodala for parts or all of series. Everyone knows this not to mention players like lowry, and gasol, van fleet getting zero credit despite playing huge. Kawhi is an overrated weird loon who asked teams to kiss the ring and move heaven and earth to meet his strange demands. Just understand when clippers falter and both he and george go chipless and leave in 2 years this will further show how irrelevant the two are. Celtics have always rooted against and now for 2 years so are clips.
Very well said dude!
How about the Lakers and Raps stop acting like jilted lovers, it’s a bad look on both franchises.
In fairness to both teams, we haven’t actually heard either one complain. We’ve gotten vague reports, but we should know to take these things with a grain of salt (besides, slow time of the year for news.). For a team like the raptors – who strive to be a free agent destination – speaking publicly against a lost free agent would not reflect well on them.
Kawhi Leonard signed with the team he wanted to play for. Nothing more, nothing less.
There’s a lot of stuff that happens before you get to the bottom line.
What’s he going to say, “yah, I wS a dick
And lead everyone on”. He and uncle Rufus are the only ones who know if that’s true. And right, I didn’t talk to PG about asking for a trade. OG just woke up one day after seemingly being happy and said, hey..:I want to be a clipper. What a coincidence. Who cares. The only thing to do now is go beat him.
KL can say he deserved all that time to decide, but the bottom line is no one else takes that long and that’s what you are going to be compared to. And it’s hard to imagine he wasn’t talking to PG about the clippers. PG didn’t just wake up one day and say he wants to be a Clipper. He said he loved playing with Russ. What happened to that? There’s an old saying, “remember, wherever you go, there you are”. That’s PG. He’ll wake up one day and want to be a Pacer. So KL wasn’t sitting around making up his mind. He was looking for his security blanket. When he got it, he signed.
“I don’t ever want to have that bad karma come back on me trying to make the Lakers miss out on players they should have gotten or vice-versa with the Raptors.”
Well the Lakers missed out on players waiting for KL, so, by his own definition, he will have that bad karma coming back on him.
What he means by vice-versa, who knows; I think he intended something like “the same”.
The NBA takes pity on KL and his mental limitations & meanness and lets him keep his head in the sand. He doesn’t even know consequences exist. He’s not going to do gentlemen’s agreements or keep the best interests of the league in mind.
I suppose he did not do illegal things. But the league probably does not benefit when he speaks so he gets a pass on selling the NBA like everyone else is required to.
Paul George must be a lonely man, going for these superficial recruitments. He wants to receive 5 (years), but can only give up a few. Should be a fit.
“Community shootaround: Kawhi L”