Kawhi Leonard arrived in Toronto on Wednesday to allow the Raptor ownership group to make their presentation to the best player in the NBA. Leonard promised the Raptors he would make their presentation the last he would listen to before making his decision.
Kawhi Leonard is twenty-seven years old and unlike Kevin Durant three years ago has nothing left to prove minus perhaps he could join the five title clique in the next eight years or so.
Leonard doesn’t need a super team to win a ring and he’s proved it twice already at the tender age of twenty-seven. If both he and Danny Green return to the Raptors their championship team is basically intact with a young coach in Nick Nurse who looks to have the respect of his players.
Kawhi Leonard doesn’t need the Lakers—they need him.
Leonard doesn’t appear to be a person who would thrive dealing with the daily turmoil and drama of being on a super team in Los Angeles. I could see the Clippers perhaps, but why possibly should he demean his legacy by whoring it up with LeBron.
Kawhi Leonard holds the balance of NBA power in his hands as he decides where his next basketball stop is going to be.
If he stays in Toronto then Adam Silver has a league with parity and compelling narratives which will only make the NBA even more popular than it already is as only the NFL has more fan interest as a league.
Silver now has two superstars in Durant and Irving in New York with the Nets. He has LeBron and Anthony Davis in LA…and if Kawhi stays in Canada the world considering the NBA at truly the world’s premier sports league.
What a great time to be Kawhi Leonard.