Kawhi Leonard: Toronto Raptors set to battle LA Clippers, not Lakers, in free agency
That is what Marc Stein of the New York Times believes.
Leonard’s contract will expire at the end of the season, and he will become a free agent.
At that point, he will be free to talk to new teams about his future.
He has been linked with a move to Los Angeles, with either the Clippers or the Lakers being potential options.
Those links were made stronger when Leonard purchased a new house for $13.3million just south of Los Angeles.
He has only been in Toronto since the start of the season, when he was traded from the San Antonio Spurs, but it is expected that he wants to return to his home city of Los Angeles.
So far this season, Leonard has been quiet on his future, and has not given anything away about where he could play next year.
Leonard was not the only potential free agent being linked with a move to the Clippers.
Kevin Durant was also rumoured to be exploring the possibility of leaving the Golden State Warriors in order to join the Clippers in free agency.
However, Durant is also wanted by the New York Knicks, though many believe he will choose to stay at Golden State.
And Stein explained that he believes the Clippers are first in the queue for Leonard.
“I will say that a genuine confidence about their Kawhi chances emanates from the Clippers every time I’m around them,” he wrote.
“They obviously can’t say it for public consumption, but the sense I get is that the Clippers see themselves as the favourites for Leonard.
“The Clippers’ belief on this front has convinced me, at the very least, that the Toronto Raptors have to treat the Lakers’ Staples Center co-tenants as their most worthy threat in the Kawhi Sweepstakes.
“And I’d say they do.”
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