All-Star unrestricted free agent forward Kawhi Leonard has decided on a team in Los Angeles, but it's not the Lakers. Leonard is going with the Clippers and bringing his All-NBA pal Paul George with him in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder—yet the Lakers were confident they were still involved as a possible Kawhi landing spot hours before the decision was announced. Per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Leonard's “camp” asked Lakers brass to delay the pending Anthony Davis trade to Los Angeles for unspecific reasons.
Much will be made of the Lakers and Raptors end of this. But as of about 2 hours before Leonard chose the Clippers Friday night, his camp was asking the Lakers to delay the AD trade until Sat/Sun, sources tell ESPN. No reason given. Just a condition.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 6, 2019
The Lakers agreed in principle to a trade with David Griffin and the New Orleans Pelicans days before the 2019 NBA Draft, which sent Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram, the fourth overall pick and more first-round picks to the Bayou in exchange for Davis heading to Hollywood.
Now, it's reported by Shelburne, the Davis trade was in Leonard's crosshairs, but we don't know why. Speculating, it's possible Leonard was interested in the trade due to salary cap reasons—reportedly Davis would waive his no-trade clause to free up $4 million in cap space for the Lakers to sign another max-contract player (like Leonard). However, that would seem unnecessarily, too, since Kawhi had conceivably decided on the Clippers already along with his masterplan of combining forces with George.
Leonard is the reigning Finals MVP, winning his second title, this time with the Toronto Raptors. He's a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and three-time All-Star. George is a six-time All-Star and former Most Improved Player award winner.
Both George and Leonard were reportedly interested in joining the Los Angeles Lakers during their respective free agencies.
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