The Los Angeles Lakers and the rest of the NBA world were left in shock when Kawhi Leonard reportedly signed with the Los Angeles Clippers and then Paul George was also sent to the Clippers in a blockbuster trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Leonard was highly sought after this summer with the Lakers, Clippers and Toronto Raptors all waiting out his free agency in hopes of signing him.
Because the Lakers did not end up getting the decision they had hoped for from Leonard, they were left with around $32 million in cap space to fill out the rest of their roster with most of the top options that were available off the board.
It appears they have already begun putting that cap space to use though as according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, they have agreed to sign Leonard’s former teammate with both the Raptors and San Antonio Spurs — Danny Green — to a two-year, $30 million deal:
Free agent guard Danny Green will sign a two-year, $30M deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2019
Green confirmed the report, announcing on his ‘Inside The Green Room’ podcast that he will be signing with the Lakers:
BREAKING: pic.twitter.com/oIPUwiFLmI
— Inside The Green Room (@GreenRoomInside) July 6, 2019
Green was one of the best options left and is an excellent fit on the Lakers alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He also brings a championship presence to a team with clear championship aspirations after pairing two of the best players in the league in James and Davis this offseason.
What Green brings to the table for Los Angeles is shooting and perimeter defense. In 10 NBA seasons, Green is a career 40.4% shooter from the three-point line. He was also named to the 2017 NBA All-Defensive Second Team when he was with the Spurs.
In 80 games for the Raptors this past season, Green averaged 10.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists while shooting 46.5% from the field, 45.5% from three, and 84.1% from the free-throw line.
After signing Green, the Lakers will still have around $17 million left in cap space to spend.
