Kawhi Leonard‘s free agency held up a lot of other deals as his three primary suitors, the Lakers, Clippers and Raptors, pushed for his services. The two-time NBA Finals MVP ended up choosing the Clippers after the organization managed to swing a trade for Paul George.
Subsequent reports have suggested the two teams who missed out on Leonard may have felt that Kawhi and/or his representatives led on teams during the recruitment process. On the day he and George were introduced at a press conference, a more-talkative-than-usual Leonard set the record straight to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.
“I didn’t lead anyone on,” Leonard 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.”
With his decision, Leonard will become the first player to win an NBA Finals MVP and play for a different team the following season. Leonard’s lone campaign in Toronto was a successful one as the two-time Defensive Player of the Year helped the Raptors advance to and win the first NBA championship in franchise history.
However, the Riverside, California, native had long been known to be seeking to return home. The Lakers and Clippers both represented that opportunity but his childhood fandom for either team had no bearing on his decision.
“Y’all kept saying that me and Paul’s favorite team growing up was the Lakers. I’m not going to say [Yahoo Sports], but whatever media outlet was out there saying that Kawhi prefers the Lakers over the Clippers, or Paul loves the Lakers, was wrong,” Leonard said. “I wasn’t a fan of the Lakers growing up. Not saying that’s why I didn’t choose them, but that’s not what it is. I wasn’t a fan of them, and [Paul] just told you guys he was a Clippers fan.”
At the end of the day, Leonard said the teams in pursuit of him could have pivoted in a different direction at any time if there issues with his approach.
“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.”
Paul wasn’t a clippers fan. He’s full of crap lol. Got the tweets to back that up hahaha
They just make crap up at this point. You can count the amount of Clippers “fans” in SoCal on one hand. And most of those are just contrarians and Laker haters transplanted from somewhere else.
Screenshots or gtfo
A whopping 4 tweets while in college the year he got drafted. Looks like he was rooting for the Lakers(& Kobe)to win. I used to root for the Hawks cuz I liked Dominique. I must be some kind of a fraud.
While he was in Indy, he said he grew up a Clips fan. Would love to see these tweets you speak of.
Of course he is going to say he did not lead anyone on. What is he supposed to say “you got me! I played the raptors and the Lakers like a fiddle to get what I wanted“. All I got to say is the clippers they really got a head case well make that two head cases on their hands.
Yeah..poor Clippers have Kawhi Leonard and you aren’t upset about it at all.
Head case? They’re gonna need a case alright, a trophy case!
Just proves most the top players in the NBA are scumbags with zero integrity. They get paid quite well to act like teenagers with a chip on their shoulder. I love Leonard on the court; throwback player. But his personality leaves a lot to be desired.
Can’t agree more.
Bullsh#%! The guy is a winner, quiet warrior, respectable man when presented publicly. I get so tired of weak men that get intimidated by other men who they cant get in their heads or try to manipulate. Try working on you and your families greatness before you judge another man you do not know ANYTING about except some bs sport talk rumor crap. Lol!!
Exactly. Well said.
Sure, for a fanboy idol-worshipper. None of you “know” NBA players, especially secretive Leonard who misdirects people and ignores the paying audience. That has been in evidence; “respectable” is an opinion.
And your take is not an “opinion”?
No, that is in evidence. KL is a public figure.
“Weak men”is wild speculation.
KL says he laughed when people said they thought he liked the Lakers. Did he say that wasn’t right? No, he just laughed. At NBA fans. Who pay his salary. This was publicly noted by actual respectable voices like HR.
How does this prove that he has zero integrity? So bizarre.
What did he say that was wrong? Im a Laker fan but KL did nothing wrong and said all the right things.
He said no things. How is nothing right or wrong? You were allowed to project what you wanted.
Well said
Just proves that mental midgets can’t discern that the owners also own the media, who tell you that the billionaire “poor” owners are the victims here, and you swallow it whole and suddenly a FREE agent actually isn’t allowed to be free to do what he wants, and the crybaby teams who didn’t get him are somehow the victim.
This is a really dangerous line of thought here, and the fact that you immediately leapt to the owners defense and somehow made it about the player being “scumbags” (such a harsh term for this, grow up) proves my point.
the fact he said the Lakers were close, and the reports of his uncles demands to the raps clearly shows they were never in this thing truly except as a last resort. so yes taking the teams private plane, and holding them up clearly was “leading them on”.
I understand as a free agent he has the right, but dont BS it. you’ve never cared about how people viewed you so why start now?
So I am a Clippers fan for almost 20 years now. Basically I got tired of the Lakers drama. I was a Showtime Lakers fan, but when the Shaq/Kobe era of DRAMA began, I moved on.
When the Donald Sterling racist crap occurred, i was gonna be done, but then Steve Balmer came in and I love his ownership. Much like Mark Cuban, they are Fans of basketball and you know they are willing to do what it takes to win.
This poor Lakers being misled? Really? Lol. Lakers fans are just spoiled and they cant understand that some players dont want to play for the Lakers and the horrible front office they now have.
Glad your no longer a fan, to many opinionated fans was no basketball sense making invalid statements. Our last chip was 9 years ago when was yours? Couldnt win with 2 hall of famers in paul and griffin what makes you think this team will achieve more than a playoff birth and 1st round exit something pg is known for? And yes pg lied about being a clippers fan its well documented both kawhi and pgs ties to the organization go, lol.
Lol. Good points. Lol.
“Our” last chip? You mean “their” last chip. You just watched.
Without fans teams are nothing, we was correct word used. Thanks troll!
And fans contribute to all the revenue.
How soft can you be? You cant handle 3 rings/4 finals trips if it comes with a little “drama”. Its funny because both have looked back and said it was healthy conflicts between Shaq and Kobe that the media overblew. Your not a fan of any team if your fandom is so malleable. Drama lol really. You couldn’t enjoy a 3 peat because of drama. Jeez
Worry about yourself, maybe? And learn your/you’re.
You seem like you can’t handle a sports comment on a sports website. Either reply to the content or don’t. No one like a grammar cop. What are you gonna do proffesor fail me on the english exam?
That’s funny, the Warriors just did 3 rings/5 finals trips in a row with no drama…almost like the Lakers are a terrible franchise with the worst fanbase ever who stan for terrible narratives over rings!!
You are a striaght up clown. Warriors have their 1st successful period in their franchises histroy while the Lakers have their worst and you act like thats all of history LOL. “Terrible franchise” yeah sure the team with 16 ships is terrible. Wonder what the narrative will be when Lebron and AD are killing it. The Lakers were actually able to have a 3 peat which is far more impressive than choking and crying to KD for help. Shaq and Kobe would have never blown a 3-1 finals lead and have an all time choke job like what GS did in 2016. Anyone who cares at drama should go back to middle school
Trader!!!
If you’re going to call someone out, at least spell it correctly. Geez!
What does he trade? Baseball cards?
Lakers and Celtics never deserve to win another title for the next 100 years, they’ve had their share. The only reason why everyone hates the Warriors is because the Lakers and C’s media doesn’t want more teams joining them in being allowed to be good for an extended period of time.
Lol Lakers fans are a whiny bunch. Had he chosen them and the Clippers were accusing him of leading them on, you’d be loving it, not crying about what a jerk he is.
Those teams led themselves on lol. Ridiculous. This is what happens when you take reports from sources other then the players themselves.
twitter and woj ruined the game
Laker fans shouldn’t be angry AD did some very shifty things to get to the Lakers by dogging it last year. Raptors knew they were out of the running when he wouldn’t commit to them after the championship. Durant did the same to GSW. If a player doesn’t say they want to resign that is 100% word there they are leaving.
It ain’t about the name in front of the jersey anymore. That’s probably a good thing.
We all know this cliche. Hot chick at the bar gives attention to nerd at the bar and so he buys her drinks all night. Then her boyfriend shows up and she leaves w him.
Basically the scenario that occurred.
Try being a Mavs fan….
You have more rings than the Clippers do
And more finals appearances
Clippers fans come and go, but lakers fans are there through thick and thin. It will be interesting in the next 2 years clippers dont achieve anything and kawhi and pg hit market again and clips fade into mediocrity without draft picks for the next decade.
Lakers fans are probably the most irritating of all sports fans. They never talk about the reality of the team. They think that everyone is obligated to play for the Lakers.
Even Jerry West no longer wants any part of that train wreck of a team.
Uh contrary to what your saying he wanted to return but we didnt want him lol. Nice try and we just got lebron and ad both whom wanted to play here as did pg and kawhi before getting delt elsewhere lol
Lol. Haha. Lol.
You always make good arguments.
I forgot clippers hang selfies rather than banners.
You used to be one….Trader!
You also described the Knicks
Big opportunity? What does that even mean? Dude is crazy, he doesn’t deserve to be a Laker.
True. You know who does? Jared Dudley.
Its funny how after six years of blowing that the Lakers are in the heads of now their best two players and their fans. Ballzz best bet is taking the team to Seattle. They will never win here
Thats what happens when you get heckled at your own press confrence and mural paintings. LA is and will always be a Laker town
It’s better to ‘lead on’ teams than it is to extort one…
“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.”– KL
That was exactly what it was. The Lakers could not sign any moderate-quality player while waiting for Kawhi to decide. There is no doubt about this.
Was that “bad”? It was all legal and in his rights and followed the CBA. He took the full moratorium to decide and then some. But he made the Lakers inactive, so if that’s bad karma, then KL has bad karma coming back to him by his own definition.
Actually I think the dingbat doesn’t know karma from vice-versa. He should worry more about the karma coming back from the people supporting him that he shuts out and ridicules if anything.
Lakers fans are the softest fanbase in sports. I’ve never seen a group of grown men be so defensive
lol @ Paul George & Kawhi Leonard being Clippers fans… Just be a man about the decisions you made. Real men don’t have to lie about the decisions they make. Kawhi was free to do whatever he wanted during free-agency, but Kawhi knows that he and his team dangled both the lakers and raptors along, purposely in the case of the Lakers to make them weaker competition this upcoming season. Now that’s what I don’t respect.
The Clippers have only really had a competitive, nationally recognized squad during the last 10 or so years (i.e. the Blake Griffin era)… George & Leonard were not watching Elton Brand, Darius Miles & co. and thinking this is where I want to be.
Uhhh, they did “be a man” and now you are telling them to “be a man”….???
Also, you know about the whole gender thing, right? We don’t use that phrase anymore, and I’m not forcing you not to, but others will put you out of your misery soon enough…
That was sad and funny.
Kawhi to the Lakers: “Congratulations, you played yourself.”