The Los Angeles Lakers leaked numerous reports over the past week or so that they believed they were in the driver’s seat to land Kawhi Leonard, but in the end it appeared they were not even one of the two finalists to sign the NBA Finals MVP. In hindsight, we have to wonder if Leonard was strategically stringing the Lakers along.
In examining how Leonard recruited Paul George to join him with the Clippers, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported that Kawhi’s camp instructed the Lakers on Friday night to delay completing the Anthony Davis trade until “as late as Sunday.” No specific reason was given, but the Lakers were told they had to do that if they still wanted to be in the running for Leonard. Like the Clippers and Raptors, the Lakers were committed to doing anything they needed to at that point to give themselves a shot.
What if Leonard knew all along that he was either going to sign with the Clippers or return to the Raptors? Would it be unrealistic to think he strung the Lakers along so they would have more difficulty signing the top free agents while they kept a max contract slot open for him? Perhaps not.
Leonard just put the Raptors on his back to bring the franchise its first ever championship, so it never really made sense for him to join forces with LeBron James and become a clear No. 2. It’s not outside the realm of possibility that he was waiting to see if the Clippers could get George — or another No. 2 star — while also negatively impacting the Lakers’ chance to sign the top free agents. The longer the Lakers had to wait on Leonard’s decision, the more the best free agents were busy finding other homes, leaving the Lakers with fewer choices available for players to sign.
Keep in mind there has already been speculation that Leonard manipulated the Lakers to make it easier for him to meet with George. If the only reason he kept the Lakers involved was to ruin their offseason, Clippers fans should love him even more.
