Kawhi Leonard’s impending free agency with the Toronto Raptors and his ties to the Los Angeles Lakers will be one of the biggest stories of the offseason.
In Leonard’s final season with the San Antonio Spurs and the 2018-19 NBA season with the Raptors, he’s managed to remain quiet about his true feelings. However, he’s left that job to his uncle Dennis Robertson — or as many around the league refer to him as ‘Uncle Dennis.’
Robertson has maintained that Leonard will keep his options open in free agency but for now, he’s focused on winning with the Raptors.
And with the Raptors shocking the Eastern Conference and getting to the 2019 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, that goal hasn’t changed, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports:
“I can’t get into other free agents and other teams, but for Kawhi, he’s going to take it one day and one game at a time,” Robertson told Yahoo Sports. “We have a championship opportunity in front of us. We’re not thinking about free agency; it’s the Warriors [right now]. Once we get through the season, we’ll turn our attention to free agency. But we’re just having fun right now. This has been a great year.”
This answer doesn’t really give fans too much in terms of Leonard’s free agency mindset, but the good news is it’s been reported that LeBron James has already reached out to him about joining the Lakers:
“From what I understand, he has already begun the recruiting process. I’ve heard he has had contact with Kawhi Leonard. I’ve heard he’s had contact with Jimmy Butler.”
If anyone can get Leonard to leave a possible championship team, it’s James. However, with the Raptors just four wins away from hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy, it’s fair to say that free agency might be the farthest thing from his mind right now.
In his first season with the Raptors, Leonard took them to their first NBA Finals in franchise history after years of getting so close only to have the dream taken away by James’ Cleveland Cavaliers. The Raptors made a bold move trading DeMar DeRozan away, but it’s safe to say that the move has paid off — even if Leonard leaves Toronto.
Fans will all eventually find out what Leonard wants to do with the remainder of his prime years in July but for now, fans should all enjoy the historic run that Leonard has had.
