Kawhi Leonard has been rumored to be zeroed into his potential return to his hometown of Los Angeles, despite enjoying an NBA-leading life with the Toronto Raptors and looking close to his prime form coming off a year-long injury.
While the Raptors' success and the endless support across the franchise could be a potential big factor in his stay, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski noted championship chances aren't a strong motivator, given Leonard already has one under his belt.
“It becomes harder with a player who has already won a championship who is thinking of quality of life and where he wants to be,” said Wojnarowski on his new show “Woj & Lowe” on ESPN 2. “Maybe his best chance is in Toronto; it may not be his No. 1 priority and Toronto knew all season that they would be coming from behind and that the case that they make would not be made by Thanksgiving or Christmas or the trade deadline — it would be in late June and having that place and winning grow on him, offer him more money that anybody else. But so could the Spurs, and he couldn't get out of there fast enough at the end. He didn't stay for the money.”
Woj noted the Raptors can't change the geography or the weather of Toronto, and as much as the front office would want to pitch him on a culture or a path to a championship, those things would come second or third in his priority list, as the LA Clippers look more and more as the outright leaders of that race for his services.
Trading him would eliminate any chance for a decent return on their investment, as the rest of the league has become keenly aware of Leonard's ultimate desires. The best the Raptors can do at this point is make the most of this season and hope the results could be enough to outweigh the sunny skies of The City of Angels.
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