Kawhi Leonard, freshly traded to the Toronto Raptors, may not be more than a one-year rental, which the Raptors knew going into the deal. The team acquired Leonard along with Danny Green, in exchange for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a top-20-protected 2019 draft pick. Leonard wants to play in Los Angeles, and everybody knows it. Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star appeared on an episode of Count The Dings’ Back 2 Back podcast and reported that Leonard has already begun discussing his plans for 2019 free agency with fellow NBA stars.
FRESH @back2backpod CLIP
The great @bruce_arthur joined the show with some serious intel, reporting word that Kawhi has already talked to other stars about potentially joining up next summer.
"And it wasn't just LA he was talking about."
Full POD: https://t.co/Fr1kv9QSgq pic.twitter.com/J3xNtI5a0O
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) July 18, 2018
Currently, the Los Angeles Lakers and, to a lesser degree, the Los Angeles Clippers are considered the frontrunners for Leonard next season. It’s not just LA, though, according to Arthur, who named the Brooklyn Nets as another possibility. Arthur made it sound like Leonard is more concerned with playing on a good, contending team than he is with living in LA.
