Lakers Decided To Sign NBA Champion, Forward Dismisses Betrayal Claims

Kawhi Leonard’s free agency decision was the most highly anticipated and the small forward took his time to decide and eventually joined the Los Angeles Clippers on a three-year deal. The Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors were also in the hunt and there have been claims the small forward led the two teams on before deciding to join the Clippers but he has dismissed any claims that he betrayed the teams by choosing Doc Rivers’ team.

The likes of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson made their decisions within hours of free agency opening but Leonard decided to take his time before coming to a decision. He was pursued by the Clippers, Lakers and his former employers Raptors, with whom he won the 2019 NBA championship.

The two-time NBA Finals MVP held meetings with all three teams and many NBA insiders predicted that he will end up alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis at the Lakers, while a few also expected him to at least give one more year to the Raptors. But in the end, it did come as a surprise when he chose the Clippers.

Leonard revealed recently that he chose the Clippers because of the opportunity to play with Paul George, who arrived via trade from Oklahoma City Thunder and that he was very close to joining the Lakers before the offer from their city rivals. However, he made it clear he did not force any team to wait for his decision and that he had to take his time to make the right decision for his future and family.

"If they didn’t want to wait for me, they didn’t have to,” Leonard told Yahoo Sports in an exclusive interview after the introductory press conference. “They had a big opportunity to sign me. [The Lakers] were close, but I ended up on the other side.”

“I didn’t lead anyone on,” the two-time defensive player of the year added. “I took my time in free agency, as I should, to make sure I made the best decision for myself and my family. I feel like some of the media coverage over it made it feel that way, with people saying I’m signing with Toronto 99 percent or I’m going to the Lakers 99 percent. I don’t ever want to have that bad karma come back on me trying to make the Lakers miss out on players they should have gotten or vice-versa with the Raptors.”

The Lakers signed Danny Green, DeMarcus Cousins and Avery Bradley after missing out on Leonard but some NBA insiders are of the opinion that the Los Angeles franchise would have moved for players like Kemba Walker and D’Angelo Russell if they were aware of Leonard’s decision earlier.