The Los Angeles Lakers may be considered a long shot to sign Kawhi Leonard this summer, but the NBA Finals MVP is going to hear what they have to say.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports that Leonard is expected to meet with the Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers at the start of free agency on Sunday. He’ll meet with several teams before making a final decision, and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was told he will sit down with the Toronto Raptors last.
Free agent Kawhi Leonard is expected to allow the Toronto Raptors to make the final meeting presentation among the teams visiting with him in Los Angeles next week, league sources tell ESPN. The incumbent often prefers to go last in trying to convince a player to stay with team.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 27, 2019
The Lakers have positioned themselves to be able to sign Leonard or another superstar player this summer, as they involved a third team in their Anthony Davis trade so they can shed more more contracts. Davis has also agreed to waive his $4 million trade kicker, which will leave the Lakers with $32 million in salary cap space when the deal is finalized.
It seems unlikely that Leonard would want to operate as the No. 2 behind LeBron James given what he was just able to accomplish in Toronto. There have been hints that Leonard may have already made up his mind, but you can’t blame the Lakers for putting all their effort into trying to recruit him.
