Kawhi Leonard To L.A. Clippers Rumors Will Heat Up If Toronto Raptors Lose To Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers upset the Toronto Raptors Monday night, evening up their second-round series with a 94-89 Game 2 victory. After stealing home-court advantage, the 76ers head to Philadelphia in good position to actually become the favorites to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.

Toronto has been the better team all year, so they should still feel confident about their chances to win three of the next five games. But the organization has to be a little nervous about what potentially might be on the horizon.

A series loss to the 76ers wouldn’t simply end the Raptors’ title chances: it might end their hopes of keeping Leonard beyond this season.

Even before Toronto acquired the superstar in a trade with the San Antonio Spurs last summer, there were rumors that Leonard was eyeing one of the two Los Angeles teams in 2019 free agency. Leonard reportedly has the Clippers ahead of the Lakers when it comes to potential offseason destinations, and there seems to be a prevailing thought around the league that he will head to L.A. when he gets the chance this offseason.

The Clippers are reportedly very confident that they’ll land Leonard, and ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith reported last week that the team believes it has a good shot to sign both Leonard and Kevin Durant.

The Raptors’ hopes of convincing Leonard to stay in Toronto for the long term might rest on what happens in the NBA playoffs.

You’d have to believe it will be hard for Leonard to walk away from Toronto if they somehow manage to win the NBA Finals. Leaving a team that loses in the NBA Finals wouldn’t be unprecedented since LeBron James did it just a year ago, but the Raptors might give themselves a real chance to re-sign Leonard if they win the East.

But losing in the second round? That might end Toronto’s chances of keeping the group that won 58 regular-season games intact.

Leonard has certainly done his part thus far to help the Raptors avoid a second-round upset. He was incredible in the team’s Game 1 victory, scoring 45 points on just 23 field-goal attempts. The former NBA Finals MVP had 35 points, seven rebounds and six assists in Game 2, but it wasn’t enough as his teammates shot a combined 29.4 percent from the field.

Game 3 is scheduled for Thursday night in Philadelphia. The winner of this series will face the Milwaukee Bucks or Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.