Kawhi Leonard and the Most Important Free Agency Decision

Free Agency is the best part of the NBA off-season. It’s a time where players make legacy changing moves, contenders load up for the next season, and the bottom feeders look to either sign big name free agents or (if you’re the Knicks) make absolutely ridiculous financial decisions.

This free agency everyone has their eyes on one player specifically: Kawhi Leonard

The board man is coming off an incredible season in which he led the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA championship and won finals MVP.

At the time this article was written, Kawhi hadn’t yet made his decision. To be completely honest, who knows when we’ll ever find out where Kawhi is going to play next season. Until then, we can look at how Leonard’s pending free agency decision will impact the future of three franchises: the Clippers, Lakers, and Raptors.

Toronto Raptors:

Kawhi re-signing with the Raptors is my favorite scenario. If this happens, the Raptors will be favorites to come out of the East next season and Danny Green most likely re-signs as well. In this scenario Kawhi would most likely sign a two year deal (player option) which would allow him to sign with the Lakers in a year or two, and it allows the Hawks and Knicks to possibly make runs at the all world talent in 2020 and 2021. In this scenario we also have parity in the NBA for the first time in a while, since the Lakers would not have a big three of Lebron James, Anthony Davis, and Kawhi Leonard.

Los Angeles Lakers:

Getting Kawhi automatically makes the Lakers (the Golden State Warriors 2.0) title favorites and puts them in position to contend for years to come. A duo of Kawhi Leonard and AD for the next 4-6 years would be an absolute blessing for the Lakers. R.I.P parity.

Los Angeles Clippers: I don’t think going to the Clippers makes much sense for Kawhi. The Raptors are in a much better position to win a title (duh) since they are in the east and just won a chip. The Clippers, even if they get Kawhi, would still not be one of the top teams in the west, and would have to wait until 2020 free agency to add a star player to their roster. If Kawhi wants to win more rings, then he should either stay in Toronto or go to the Lakers.

If I had to make a guess I’d say Kawhi is going to sign with the Lakers. He seems to want to be in LA, and with Lebron’s career coming to a close it just makes too much sense. If Lebron retires or leaves in two years, that allows Kawhi to take over as the definitive number one guy for the Lakers. That being said, I do think there is a chance that Kawhi resigns with the Raptors on a two year deal which gives Kawhi a lot of freedom for the future.