New Raptors guard Danny Green spoke this week about Kawhi Leonard’s free agency in the summer of 2019, telling listeners on his podcast that Toronto will be a tough destination to turn down.
Green and Leonard, who were both traded to Toronto in July after spending multiple seasons with the Spurs, share a close relationship that’s set to carry into a different franchise. They have been teammates for the past seven seasons and won an NBA championship in 2014.
“I don’t know where (Kawhi’s) mind is at for the future,” Green said on his “Inside the Green Room” podcast, according to Wael Saghir of The Score. “I can’t predict or tell you. I can just tell you that the city of Toronto is gonna be hard to turn down after being there. I’ve been going every summer for the past 10-plus years. It’s a great city and the fans are amazing.
“The last couple weeks, just going up for a couple days here and there and how they’ve shown me so much love. As a Raptor now, I’m so much more well known there and getting a great amount of feedback, a great amount of love and all types of different stuff from the fans. So it’s gonna be tough for him to turn down.”
Leonard is expected to command a maximum salary contract upon reaching free agency on July 1, with his hometown Lakers and other clubs likely to register interest in him. The Raptors are projected to be a title-contending team this season behind Leonard, Kyle Lowry and a deep supporting cast.
