Report: LeBron James could still sign with Lakers without Kawhi Leonard
According to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, LeBron will not base his decision on whether or not the Lakers are able to land Leonard. James also reportedly did not text Kevin Durant to gauge his interest in joining forces in L.A.
Sources close to LeBron: He didn’t text KD and his going to the Lakers would not be sealed (or doomed) by whether or not they trade for Kawhi. … Man, we’ll all be better when this is over, one way or the other
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) June 28, 2018
As usual with NBA offseason rumors, there has been a lot of conflicting information. It seems fairly obvious that LeBron would want the Lakers to bring in at least one other star player, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be Leonard.
The Lakers are still trying to swing a deal for Leonard, but all indications have been that Kawhi intends to sign with them next offseason even if he’s not traded to L.A. If LeBron’s decision is not attached to the Leonard sweepstakes, there will be less incentive for the Lakers to offer the San Antonio Spurs anything substantial. The Spurs would reportedly prefer to do business with another team anyway, so the odds have been stacked against a Lakers-Spurs trade from the start.