ESPN’s Jay Williams called out for hypocritical Kawhi Leonard opinion
ESPN analyst Jay Williams was called out on social media for his hypocritical Kawhi Leonard opinion.
Williams tweeted Friday morning that if Leonard left Toronto to join LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the Lakers, it would be the “weakest move” he’d ever seen by a dominant player.
I will say this right now…. if Kawhi leaves then @Raptors for the @Lakers THAT would be the weakest move I’ve ever seen by the most dominant player in our game right now. 3 of the top 5 players in the @NBA on the same squad? @GetUpESPN
— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) June 28, 2019
Leonard is expected to meet with the Lakers and Clippers among other teams in free agency, though he is also considering a return to the Raptors.
So what’s the problem with Williams’ opinion? Williams is the same person who fiercely defended Kevin Durant for joining the Golden State Warriors in 2016.
— Spirit Detective (@HollywoodTastic) June 28, 2019
What Durant did is arguably worse. He left a team that blew a 3-1 series lead to join the team that defeated his in seven games. The Lakers missed the playoffs last season for the sixth year in a row. On top of that, the Warriors had a prime MVP in Steph Curry and two prime All-Stars in Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. The Lakers will have four guys on their roster, and one of those stars — Davis — has won one playoff series in his entire career.
If you want to say both moves are fine, OK. If you want to say both moves would be weak, that is fair. But you can’t call one acceptable and the other weak when they’re so similar; it shows inconsistency in opinion and makes it seem like you’re basing things on personal preference and feelings, which Jay Will seems to be doing. His opinion is what’s weak, though it’s not the first time he’s shared radical comments.