Stein: The Clippers remain the favorite among most league insiders to win the Kawhi Leonard Sweepstakes. But the swagger that emanated from Clipperland for much of the season about the ability of this long-suffering franchise to finally land an A-list free agent has been dialed down some. A hint of concern has inevitably creeped in as the start of free agency draws closer and the race to secure Leonard’s formal commitment becomes more real. You know why: Leonard just led the Raptors to a championship. All of Canada remains fearful that Kawhi is poised to bolt, but there is a growing sense that Toronto has a much better shot at persuading Leonard to sign a short-term deal — one year guaranteed at $33 million and a second year at his option at $36 million — than it did as recently as May 2. That’s the night Toronto fell into a 2-1 hole against Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference semifinals, forcing the Raptors to win Game 4 on the Sixers’ floor and set Leonard up for the Game 7 corner jumper that eliminated the Sixers at the buzzer.
Clippers have awful talent. Not sure why Leonard would even consider them unless they can sign another star with him. Leonard alone won't be enough. They overachieved pretty hard last year
I wanna say that if Kawhi went to the Clippers Durant would join him but I’m sure the Warriors are gonna give him the max.
I'm not going to lie, if Kawhi went over to the Lakers and formed a super team with LeBron and AD, it would be a b*tch move. It would essentially ruin parity in the league, and he would go from being the "man" to being a second fiddle.
Do US NBA players pay income taxes in Canada? Cuz Canada's tax bracket for income over 100k is 50 There us literally nothing to do in Niagara falls besides the 45min boat ride under the fall lol
At this point, the only thing that the Clippers have going for them is that they're a hometown team for him. Notice I didn't say the hometown team because they'll never be more important than the Lakers especially now that the latter has AD and LeBron. If Kawhi signs there, it'll be clear that all that matters to him at this point in his career is being home in southern California and, to be fair, he has nothing left to prove on the basketball court. That's an insane thing to say about somebody his age, but it's true. I wish Uncle Dennis, the man who complained about Kawhi's lack of brand exposure in San Antonio, would realize that he has an entire country of people ready to buy every Kawhi New Balance product that's for sale the moment his nephew signs in Toronto. He's a god in one of the largest cities in North America, on a team poised to defend its title if he returns, and he would give that up for playing on LA's second fiddle? It doesn't make sense to me from a business perspective at all. Kawhi doesn't have to live in Toronto one day longer than he must during the season. He doesn't even have to go outside during the cold months. But he can capitalize on the goodwill of an entire country if he stays. I don't know why he'd choose to play for a team that can't fill 50% of its seats against the Lakers and Warriors instead.
Wrong. If Kawhi goes to LA, it will be because LeBron's sales pitch to him is that he will be the leader of that team. Just like how Wade did for LeBron.
And who would get the credit when they win? LeBron. Who will get the blame if they lose and do poorly? Kawhi and AD. LeBron's teams usually have a scapegoat.
The title was nice. Not being competitive for it, for years, after having been in the playoff mix for the previous decade, was tough.
I think anybody that thinks they know what Kawhi is thinking...is blowing smoke. Dude is an enigma. I do think we have a couple interesting factors we seem to know. 1. He hates being disrespected, and felt San Antonio did that (the injury questions). 2. He seemed to be leaning towards heading to LA. Speculation was that was around $$$ (marketing, etc), but I think it was more around going home. He doesn't seem like somebody that materialistically motivated. So, does he still want to go home? Or does he like Toronto? I'm sure he certainly feels he gets the respect he deserves there.
So Kawhi wants to go to the Clippers where he might be 5-8 in the West instead of getting a cakewalk to the ECF and Finals every year? Dude can begin to get the goat treatment like Lebron did for years by playing in the weaker conference.
Why would Kawhi go anywhere to win. He just won an NBA championship and Finals MVP with the Raps. Odds are he stays because the Raps can pay him the most dough and TOR is a great city but I could see him signing with the Clips because his family is there and he hated the cold Canadian winters.
If you think about it Toronto aint got another superstar either, just like the Clippers. BUT, Toronto are stacked and deeper than the Clips.
