What Should Kawhi Do?
The Toronto Raptors weren’t Kawhi Leonard’s preferred destination when he packed up and left the San Antonio Spurs. A championship and finals MVP trophy later Leonard has a huge decision to make with his upcoming free agency looming in a few weeks. What should Kawhi do? Should he stay with the Raptors who has dedicated themselves to building a formidable team around him or should he leave for what may appear as greener pastures and explore a move to another team. Leonard is one of the hardest guys to read and gives away no clues as to what he’s going to do.
Kawhi Leonard celebrates the first championship in Raptors franchise history. Photo courtesy of ESPN
There are two ways to look at it. You can see it like Kawhi’s work is done with Raptors and he’s free to go and join a new team. He brought a championship to a franchise who was never in title contention and he’ll go down in history as one of the greatest Raptors of All-Time. On the other hand you can see it like this championship solidified the Raptors as a long term home for Kawhi. They have proved to be a top notch organization and can build around Kawhi for years to come. Whichever way your opinion sways you the ultimate decision rest with Kawhi himself.
Kawhi Leonard has a really big decision to make in the off season. Should he leave or stay? Photo courtesy of ClutchPoints
Since Toronto went on their magical run to secure their 2019 championship there have been many rumors surrounding his upcoming free agency. The Raptors own Leonard’s Bird rights and can offer him a five-year, $189.6 million deal. While other teams can offer a four-year deal worth $140.6 million. The ball is in Kawhi’s court. He can also negotiate a shorter contract where factors aside from money would come into play. Things like lifestyle, front office, and teammates can be the factors that weigh heavily in Leonard’s decision.
Kawhi brought Canada it’s first Championship. Will he be back to defend the title or move on to greener pastures? Photo courtesy of chinadaily
Let’s weigh in on some of this options for next season:
Toronto Raptors
Kawhi and the Toronto Raptors just came off of a magical run that ended with them hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy for the first time in franchise history. Things are great and why leave a good situation for uncertainty? Kawhi has been thrusted into legendary status in Toronto and management is dedicated to doing whatever it takes to make him happy. After San Antonio dealt him to the Raptors it seemed as if this would be a one year loaner year until free agency but winning the championship gives the Raptors a shot at making a case for him to stay. It looks as if Kawhi likes the city of Toronto and its going to be hard to see him walk away after such a terrific season.
Los Angeles Lakers
Kawhi is a California native and returning to his hometown Lakers would be a dream come true. He would join a Laker team who already are favorites to win next seasons championship. They have stacked the deck and added Anthony Davis to the fold of LeBron James and Kyle Kuzma. Adding Leonard would give them the firepower needed to win multiple championships and would bring the Lakers back to the leagues elite circle of title contenders. Kawhi has now proved that he can win without partnering up with other superstars and may not be interested in the “can’t beat em join em” way of life. It’s going to be little tricky landing Kawhi in Purple and Gold seeing that they won’t have enough cap space to offer him a max deal. The idea of Kawhi being a third wheel on a team trying to create a superteam makes this scenario seem unlikely.
New York Knicks
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few months you would know that the knicks have cleared the way to make a big splash in this years free agency grab bag. Rumors have been swirling about Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving heading to Madison Square Garden but you never know what will happen until it happens. I’m sure the Knicks would be both happy and incredibly lucky to get Kawhi to New York. They are in need of someone to step up and rid them of the dark days they have been faced with for so long.
Los Angeles Clippers
Kawhi being from Southern California he may want to take a look at the LA Clippers. Kawhi has a bit of an old school approach when it comes to competition. He rather play against the elite players rather than play with them. According to some credible sources it appears as if Kawhi were to make a move back home to California that he would have the Clippers in mind instead of the lakers. He wants to compete against the best, not play with them.
Whatever Kawhi chooses to do will be monumental. I feel like he should probably stay put and defend the title in Toronto. Leonard proved beyond a doubt that he’s one of the very best players the league has to offer, if not the downright best. Things will start to heat up as we approach the June 30 at free agent buzzer. Story developing.