Kawhi Leonard entering free agency came as a surprise to no one, because despite winning a championship during his one year with the Toronto Raptors, it had been made clear that the Finals MVP wanted to test the market and see what was out there. A new report indicates the extent to which he’ll do that, as Leonard will take a pair of meetings when free agency opens on June 30.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports that Leonard will meet with both Los Angeles teams when the clock strikes 6 p.m., with both meetings occurring in the City of Angels.
Toronto Raptors star Kawhi Leonard intends to grant the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers meetings when free agency opens on June 30, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
The meetings would be held in Los Angeles, sources said.
Leonard, of course, is a native of Los Angeles and has been linked to a return home to play for the Clippers for months. The Lakers, meanwhile, just freed up the necessary cap space to get one more max player on the market by expanding the Anthony Davis trade and convincing Davis to waive his trade kicker worth $4 million.
Leaving Toronto is no guarantee, though, and Haynes reported that Leonard is “seriously considering” a return to the 6. The Raptors will also get the final meeting that Leonard will grant, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Free agent Kawhi Leonard is expected to allow the Toronto Raptors to make the final meeting presentation among the teams visiting with him in Los Angeles next week, league sources tell ESPN. The incumbent often prefers to go last in trying to convince a player to stay with team.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 27, 2019
Following Kevin Durant’s achilles injury and the Raptors’ Finals victory, Leonard is the single biggest free agent on the market this summer. While more teams will assuredly try to get in on the bidding war for his services considering this, the squads that he will listen to this summer look like they’re beginning to take shape.
