Back when it became obvious that the Kawhi Leonard era in San Antonio was nearing its conclusion, one team that popped up as a potential landing spot for the All-NBA forward was the Los Angeles Clippers. Rumblings that Leonard wanted to head to Los Angeles existed, but reports indicated he wasn’t on board with joining LeBron James and the Lakers.
Obviously the Clippers weren’t able to land Leonard via a trade, as the MVP candidate is a Toronto Raptor now. But that doesn’t mean Los Angeles has punted on Leonard ever joining their organization, because it’s widely expected that he’s going to opt out of the final year of his contract and become a free agent next summer.
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the Clippers are going above and beyond to make sure they’re doing their due diligence in the event they’re able to pursue Leonard. In fact, Windhorst said the Clippers are scouting Leonard with the same intent that you might see out of NBA teams that want to land R.J. Barrett or Zion Williamson next summer.
“It doesn’t help Toronto that plenty of people in the league don’t think Leonard is going to stay,” Windhorst wrote. “That’s not binding either, just ask those who had Paul George ticketed out of Oklahoma City a year ago. Still, the LA Clippers are already rotating scouts through Raptor games like Leonard is a college prospect and they have the No. 1 pick.”
This illustrates what has seemed obvious for a while, that the Clippers are all-in on trying to get Leonard as the next face of their franchise in the event he hits the open market. Whether it works or not will be determined in seven and a half months, but give the Clippers credit, they’re doing everything they can to make sure they’re making an informed decision.
(Via ESPN)
