Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star reported on Monday that Kawhi Leonard didn’t want to play with LeBron James when he was an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019.
Leonard met with the Lakers in 2019. He left the Toronto Raptors and signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, who also acquired Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In the wake of Arthur’s report going viral, a Lakers source told Lakers Daily that the franchise counts its blessings all the time Leonard is not a member of the Purple and Gold.
“We wanted him in 2019, but we count our blessings all the time he’s not here,” the Lakers source said. “He’s been such a headache for the Clippers. I actually feel bad for them sometimes.”
Leonard and the Clippers had a 3-1 lead against the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the 2020 playoffs. It appeared LAC would beat Denver and face James, Anthony Davis and LAL in the Western Conference Finals.
However, the Clippers blew a 3-1 series lead to the Nuggets.
Meanwhile, James, Davis and the Lakers beat the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
LAL got back to the conference finals in 2023, but James and Co. were swept by the Nuggets.
Davis was traded to the Dallas Mavericks last season in the blockbuster Luka Doncic trade. The Lakers appear to have a bright future with Doncic leading the way.
The Leonard era with the Clippers has been a disaster. After choking in the 2020 playoffs, Leonard tore his right ACL against the Utah Jazz in the second round of the 2021 playoffs. The Clippers defeated the Jazz but lost to the Phoenix Suns in the conference finals.
A two-time Finals MVP, Leonard missed the entire 2021-22 season due to his ACL injury. The Clippers, who have never been to the NBA Finals in franchise history, didn’t qualify for the 2022 playoffs.
Leonard played in 52 games for the Clippers in the 2022-23 season. LAC faced the Suns in the first round of the 2023 playoffs. Leonard scored 38 points in Game 1 and 31 points in Game 2. It looked like he was about to go on another special playoff run.
However, the small forward suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee. It’s unknown when the injury exactly happened, but Leonard didn’t play again and Phoenix eliminated LAC.
A future Hall of Famer, Leonard was terrific for the Clippers in the 2023-24 season. He played in 68 games and made the All-Star team and All-NBA Second Team.
However, Leonard’s right knee began to bother him in the first round of the 2024 playoffs against the Mavericks. He only played in Games 2 and 3 of the series, and the Clippers lost to the Mavericks in six games.
Last season, Leonard played in just 37 games for the Clippers, who lost to the Nuggets in the first round of the 2025 playoffs in seven games. The former San Antonio Spurs star is now in the news for the wrong reasons again, as Leonard reportedly got $48 million for a “no-show job” from the now-bankrupt green banking company Aspiration.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested $50 million in Aspiration. Seven anonymous former employees of Aspiration told Pablo Torre that Leonard got paid so the Clippers could circumvent the NBA salary cap.
Leonard may not have wanted to play with James, but it’s clear the Lakers dodged a massive bullet by not getting Leonard.