Kawhi Leonard: Does he stay in Toronto or does he go?

by
Former Writers
January 24, 2019

James Anderson via Flickr

NBA

Kawhi Leonard: Does he stay in Toronto or does he go?

I feel torn.

On the same night that Kawhi Leonard was voted in as a starter for the Eastern Conference, Leonard has apparently just put $13.3 million down to purchase a new home in Southern California.

Herein lies the angst for the contemporary Toronto Raptors fan.

On one hand, he’s the star player for our beloved team and was named an All-Star starter on Thursday night. Leonard is also the leader of the team currently tied for 1^st place in the entire NBA (not the East, the NBA!). He’s averaging a career high 27.6 points per game and has posted his second highest PER (27.3) of his career, taking rest days whenever he appears to “feel” like taking one. Leonard has had the luxury working with one of the brightest young coaches in the league in Nick Nurse. He also has teammates so strong that they can blow out Western Conference powerhouses without Leonard on said rest days.

But it’s not home.

“Home” is Los Angeles.

Home is where Leonard was born and raised.

It has been well-documented by many NBA media personalities/sources/etc that Leonard is strongly leaning towards signing with the Los Angeles Clippers in the offseason. This information is so rampant that Clippers scouts are reportedly attending every single game to see him in person: the NBA’s worst-kept secret.

It’s a shame that on the same night Leonard has one of the NBA’s greatest honours bestowed upon him, he doubles down on LA.

While the LeBron James circus is apparently very unappealing to him, he seems to be a few short months from signing with the other team across town…

But is this the smartest decision for him?

Why Leonard Shouldn’t Sign With The Clippers This Summer?

The Clippers are the 8^th seed right now, with the LeBronless Lakers only 1 game behind them. However, they have a very good chance of not making the playoffs at all this year. While it’s true that the Clippers will have more than enough cap room next season to sign Leonard to a max deal, there is a corollary to this fact: Leonard would eat up lots of money needed to build around him.

The Clippers, as constructed, have only four rotation players signed for next season. Forward Danilo Gallinari is on the injured list again. They also have 32-year old Lou Williams under contract for next season, up-and-coming big man Montrezl Harrell, and the Canadian rookie point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s loaded with potential.

While these are certainly interesting pieces, they are not a team. The other Clippers under contract for next season are: disappointing rookie 2-guard Jerome Robinson, Sindarius Thornwell (currently averaging 1.3 PPG) and Tyrone Wallace (currently averaging 4.0 PPG).

Not exactly the 1964-65 Boston Celtics.

Look, I’m being a little dramatic. But only a little.

The Clippers could sign Leonard and sign another max guy. Then, they could look for heavy discounts on the market to fill out their roster. But at what point does this become the main premise of the movie Major League, where ownership scours the planet, looking for the cheapest players they can find.

My main point: It’s a risk.

Unless, of course, you have absolutely no desire to win basketball games.

The Raptors May Have A Slight Chance To Re-Sign Leonard

Leonard has a championship on his resume, helping the San Antonio Spurs in 2014 take down the Miami Heat. He also has an NBA Finals MVP in his trophy case, which he captured at age 22. He’s also played for Gregg Popovich, who’s the best coach in NBA history… and still wasn’t happy.

So what chance does the deepest and winningest current team in the NBA have in keeping Leonard?

The answer, sadly, is only a slight one.