Kawhi Leonard could have been playing with LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the upcoming NBA season had his talk with the LA Lakers pushed through. Rumors have it that the NBA Finals MVP was in talks with the Lakers before he signed a deal with the LA Clippers. Additionally, there were claims that it was leaked info from Magic Johnson's camp which prevented the NBA star from joining the team.
Cris Carter of "Frist Thing First" claims that the LA Lakers has a great chance of signing up Kawhi Leonard, but it was an information leak which contains the conversation of Magic Johnson and Kawhi Leonard that prevented it from materializing. During the time when speculations about Kawhi Leonard moving to the LA Lakers were rife, Broderick Turner of Los Angeles Times said that Leonard's uncle Dennis and Kawhi Leonard himself had sat down with Magic Johnson for several times.
Apparently, the NBA Finals MVP's camp asked Johnson is they had attempted to trade Leonard while he was still playing for the San Antonio Spurs. In addition, Leonard's camp was curious about what happened between Rob Pelinka and Magic Johnson, but Johnson reportedly said that Pelinka was the one at fault who talked behind his back. Johnson also allegedly said that all those messes were in the past and he was totally focused on building a team that would bring home once again the NBA title to LA Lakers.
The LA Lakers seem always to fancy their chance of landing Kawhi Leonard up to the time when the Los Angeles Clippers inked a deal with the NBA Finals MVP. Los Angeles Times' Arsh Markazi claims that the Lakers were disappointed with Kawhi Leonard's decision. However, the real shocker to them and obviously to the entire NBA world was the trade that made Paul George a Clippers' player.
In the end, it appears that it was that Paul George deal that triggered Kawhi Leonard to sign a deal with the LA Clippers. With Kawhi Leonard and Paul George moving in with the team, the LA Clippers are now expected to be one of the toughest NBA teams. There were even several speculations that they could potentially win the NBA championship this time.
Many sports analysts believe that the latest move made by the Clippers is a power move, which could spell a lot of difference in the coming NBA season for the team. It is worth noting that the team was able to get into the NBA playoffs even without a single All-star player on the list. And, with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on their team now, the chances of getting the championship just several notches higher.
