Kawhi Leonard
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LeBron James believes Kawhi Leonard is an all-time great despite his injury woes
The Los Angeles Lakers might be planning to make a move towards Kawhi Leonard in the upcoming offseason, especially if LeBron James leaves the franchise. An extremely important summer will see the Lakers having to figure out the futures of James and Austin Reaves since both can hit the free agent market. All reports indicate the current plan is to build around Luka Doncic, but they hope to sign Reaves long-term as his co-star.
James is more likely to leave, unless he takes a pay cut, since the team must add multiple defenders and shooters to set up the offense around Doncic’s playing style. The money freed up from LeBron’s contract will allow them to aim for another superstar or just add multiple stronger role players to improve the entire roster.
Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron reported today that Leonard is one of dream offseason targets if they become realistic options on the market. Leonard is having his best season in a few years with incredible stats as the face of the Los Angeles Clippers franchise. If he becomes available, the Lakers could certainly check in on if they could add him ahead of next season.
How Lakers Could Get Kawhi Leonard
Leonard only has one year left on his Clippers contract, and an extension for an aging player with a history of injuries is hard to validate. The Clippers are in a tough position after their title hopes went out of the window. Veterans like Paul George and James Harden leaving the team see Kawhi and a few young prospects as their only assets.
The Clippers also lost multiple first round draft picks in various trades to see the future quite bleak unless they can move Leonard for more flexibility. Darius Garland and Bennedict Mathurin provide some hope for the future as relatively young pieces acquired at the deadline.
If the Clippers don’t want to keep Leonard long-term to further sacrifice the franchise’s stability, a trade may be the only possible scenario to salvage the situation for both parties. The Lakers could navigate a three-team trade, but the two Los Angeles teams rarely do moves together. A three-team deal with a talent the Clippers truly want would be most realistic.
LeBron James’ Role In Lakers Wanting Kawhi
The only realistic method of James remaining with the Lakers is him taking a smaller contract and allowing the team to add more talent. However, recent reports indicate that LeBron doesn’t have faith in the Lakers’ future and was angry that they stood pat at this year’s trade deadline.
Other rumored teams of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors could present better situations for James to contend, depending on how this season and the offseason plays out. If LeBron somehow does stay, the chances of the Lakers going after Leonard become slim.
However, the replacement scenario is perfect since both play the same position and offer a lot of the same positives. Doncic would also benefit more from Leonard since he’s a few years younger than LeBron and a better defensive player to boost the Lakers’ chances.