Kawhi Leonard free agency: All-Star forward meeting with Lakers; will also meet Clippers and Raptors, per reports

The Los Angeles Lakers have managed to land LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Could Kawhi Leonard be next?

Although they were once considered long shots — especially after acquiring Davis and having as little as $23.7 million remaining in cap space for the 2019 free agency period — the Lakers have reportedly secured a meeting with the reigning NBA Finals MVP after reworking their trade with the Pelicans to include the Washington Wizards so the Purple and Gold could open enough space to offer a max contract this summer.

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports, Leonard and his representation intend to grant meetings to the Lakers and the Clippers, in addition to meeting with the Raptors, once free agency opens on June 30.

Interestingly enough, it was initially reported by Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times that former Lakers president of basketball operations, Magic Johnson, would join Jeanie Buss in pitching Kawhi on joining forces with LeBron and Davis. However, this report is being squashed by Magic himself as he says he’s not permitted by NBA rules to participate in official meetings with free agents.

Johnson says “A friend of mine called and says Kawhi wants to meet with you,” Johnson told ESPN. “I said no problem. I’m available if that’s what this man wants.

“But I got a great life. I’m not trying to mess with anybody’s job.”

— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) June 28, 2019

Sam Amick of The Athletic also reports that LeBron and Davis are planning on being part of the Lakers’ recruiting pitch to Kawhi.

In addition to those three meetings, Haynes’ initial reporting included that the New York Knicks are working to secure a meeting of their own with the All-Star forward but, at this time, no meeting has been scheduled yet.

This news comes on the heels of a report from Marc Stein of the New York Times which stated that the Lakers considered themselves in the running for the reigning Finals MVP even before they were able to rework this trade and open up the cap space needed to sign a max contract player this summer.

The Lakers have believed for weeks — even before they acquired Anthony Davis — that they would factor into the Kawhi Leonard chase. This has been widely billed as a two-team race between the Clippers and Toronto, but the Lakers’ chance to hush their skeptics is fast approaching

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 25, 2019

Leonard will be a free agent this summer after officially opting out of his deal with the Toronto Raptors. Considering he is coming off the biggest season of his career after leading the Raptors to an NBA championship and winning Finals MVP in his first season with the franchise, Leonard won’t have any shortage of suitors. However, it was largely expected that there would be two teams as the front-runners for his services — none other than the Raptors and hometown Los Angeles Clippers.

It had been reported over the weekend by Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports that the Raptors — not the Clippers — are the favorites to sign Leonard.

“The appeal of returning home to Southern California is enticing to the two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, but with the trust the Raptors built while Leonard led the franchise to its first NBA title by upsetting the Golden State Warriors, rival executives view his current team as the favorite to land him when the free-agent negotiating period begins June 30, sources said.”

Considering the Lakers have only three players under contract after reworking this trade (James, Davis and Kyle Kuzma) for the 2019-20 season, Rob Pelinka will have to get creative in attempting to fill out this roster whether Los Angeles adds Leonard or another max contract level free agent to the fold in the coming weeks.

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