The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to land a meeting with superstar free agent Kawhi Leonard. It also appears the Lakers will have some powerful voices as part of that pitch to bring Leonard to Hollywood. Sam Amick of The Athletic reports that both LeBron James and Anthony Davis will be part of the pitch for the meeting with Leonard.
With the Lakers now expected to land a Kawhi Leonard meeting, a source tells @TheAthletic that LeBron James AND Anthony Davis are planning on being part of the formal pitch.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) June 28, 2019
Marc Stein of the New York Times also says that the Lakers are now the most-significant threat to lure Leonard away from Toronto. The Clippers, who were thought to be the Los Angeles team with the best chance of getting Kawhi Leonard, now face an uphill battle to beat out the Raptors and Lakers.
Things change fast in #thisleague: With free agency a day and change away, it's the Lakers who have convinced Las Vegas — and an increasing number of league insiders — that they are LA's true threat to limiting Kawhi Leonard's Raptors career to a single season. Not the Clippers
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 29, 2019
To make matters even more intriguing, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reports that Kawhi Leonard has asked Magic Johnson to attend his meeting with the Lakers. Johnson is not permitted to be a part of any formal meetings with the Lakers, as he stepped down from his position of Team President this past April. Nevertheless, it was Johnson who secured the commitment from LeBron last summer to join the Lakers. Now he will reportedly be a part of the process to get Leonard.
In just a few weeks, the Lakers went from an unmitigated disaster to having Anthony Davis and now may have the best chance to land Kawhi Leonard. Oh, and LeBron James wanted to live in Los Angeles last offseason and is there too. Potentially a gargantuan “Big Three” at a time when the Golden State Warriors dynasty appears ready to crumble.
