The NBA world was on hold when Kawhi Leonard was still mulling his free agency decision on where to take his superstar talent next. Coming off a championship with the Toronto Raptors, the prospect of the reigning Finals MVP staying put in Canada was not out of the question.
However, the possibility of playing in his hometown of Los Angeles was also very enticing. Luckily for Leonard, if he indeed wanted to go home, he had the luxury of choosing two L.A. squads: the 16-time champion Lakers or the emerging Clippers.
Of course, as it turned out, Leonard made his way to the Clippers, all while orchestrating a deal that landed them Paul George, as well, from the Oklahoma City Thunder. Still, Leonard strongly considered returning to the team that he just led to its first NBA title. Likewise, with the Lakers, Leonard could have very well created the greatest Big Three of all time with LeBron James and newly-acquired superstar Anthony Davis.
Imagine that. Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis, all on the same team.
LeBron, in year 17, is still playing at an extremely high level. Leonard just led the Raptors to a title with a magnificent 2019 playoffs. And Davis is a generational all-around superstar in the absolute peak of his prime. That's arguably three of the five best players in the league.
When did that ever happen in the NBA? Compare the Leonard-James-Davis trio with the other great Big Threes in NBA history. Bird-McHale-Parish led the Celtics to multiple titles in the 1980's. The Magic-Kareem-Worthy won three of the Lakers' five championships in the 1980's. Jordan-Pippen-Rodman led the Bulls dynasty through their second three-peat in the 90's.
Duncan-Ginobili-Parker led San Antonio to four championships. In their first season together with the Celtics, the Pierce-Garnett-Allen won the 2008 title. And James was part of one of the greatest trios in NBA history when he joined his buddies Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat, where they won back-to-back titles.
As you can see, all those legendary Big Threes won NBA championships. But the mega trio of LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and Anthony Davis would topple them all in terms of sheer talent. I mean, as mentioned, these three superstar are arguably among the top-5 players in the NBA today.
And that could have very well been the reality for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Los Angeles already made their first splash of the summer by trading for Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans. However, the Hollywood-based squad still wanted to add a third star. And of course, the top player on their list was the best player available: Kawhi Leonard.
The Lakers already had LeBron James and Anthony Davis eating up majority of their cap space, so meeting Leonard's maximum contract demands would have needed some financial work around.
Nonetheless, it was possible with a few tweaks and roster moves and Los Angeles would have certainly found a way to make it happen. The newly-acquired Davis already did his part by waiving his $4-million trade kicker that could help the Lakers land another big name – hopefully Leonard – in free agency.
Moreover, adding Kawhi Leonard would have certainly gutted out the entire roster. Depth is something they were willing to sacrifice if that meant creating the greatest Big Three ever. Rob Pelinka would have needed to get creative on how to round out the rest of the roster by surrounding Leonard, James, and Davis with players on minimum contracts.
Nonetheless, putting aside all the financial complications and possible roster implications, that was all within reach for the Lakers. All they needed was for Leonard to sign on the dotted line.
Follow Us
Subscribe