The Lakers have had no shortage of stars throughout their 78-year long history. They, of course, had the chance to add another one to their ranks when Kawhi Leonard’s free agency saga gripped the NBA world. Fast forward six years after Leonard joined the LA Clippers, and many—including an anonymous league executive—believe Kawhi’s choice may have saved the purple and gold.
Kawhi Leonard’s 2019 Decision is Blessing in Disguise for Lakers
NBA Exec Believes Lakers “Dodged a Massive Bullet”
The six-time All-Star has made headlines for all the wrong reasons in the last 48 hours. An investigation by sports journalist Pablo Torre found the Clippers attempted to circumvent the salary cap by signing Leonard to a $28 million endorsement deal with a now-bankrupt tree-planting company, Aspiration.
Past reporting revealed that Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, demanded that teams courting Leonard in 2019 give the star forward a slew of “improper benefits,” including millions in off-court endorsements, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick. Lakers Governor Jeanie Buss firmly denied such requests, which Robertson made via three phone calls over the course of several days.
Considering Leonard’s current debacle and all that’s happened since he landed in LA, a league executive told Lakers Daily that the team “dodged a massive bullet.”
“The Lakers wanted Kawhi badly. … Boy, they dodged a massive bullet by not landing him. You think Rich [Paul] and LeBron are hard to deal with? Uncle Dennis (Dennis Robertson) is even worse. He thinks Kawhi is the second coming of Jesus.
“The Lakers dodged a massive bullet by not getting Kawhi. The guy barely plays, doesn’t market the team he’s on and now he’s in the news for the wrong reasons for the second time since signing with the Clippers. This has been a huge headache for Ballmer and Co.”
The “What-ifs” of Kawhi on the Lakers
Although the Lakers and Clippers have taken remarkably different paths since 2019, some may still speculate “what could have been” had the Lakers formed a big three of Leonard, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Would those Lakers live up to the purported “superteam” hype that surrounded them in free agency? Would the dream scenario become a nightmare and blow up in their faces? And would the Luka Doncic trade even happen if Kawhi ignored blue and red for purple and gold?
There’s no use dwelling on the past, of course, but Leonard joining the Lakers would have created a hell of a butterfly effect. And knowing what we know now about Leonard’s time with the Clippers, the exec and Lakers fans agree the team definitely dodged a bullet. Despite the rough stretches the purple and gold endured in recent years, it could have been worse with a load managing star and his extremely shady uncle.
© Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
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