Kawhi Leonard Rumors: Clippers to Craft Narrative to Fit Kawhi's Personal Story
The Los Angeles Clippers are already planning a potential free-agent pitch to Kawhi Leonard for next summer.
Per The Athletic's Blake Murphy, there is a sense from people around the NBA that the Clippers are crafting a narrative in line with Leonard's personal story.
Murphy didn't go into specifics, though he did list reasons why the Clippers seem to be picking up steam as a free-agent destination:
"They've managed to pivot away from their former core without going through a nasty rebuild that would threaten to regress some of the reputational rehabilitation they performed in the Chris Paul-Blake Griffin-DeAndre Jordan era. They've maintained a clean cap sheet, added young talent and are winning games while toeing the line in a holding pattern between two possible paths after next summer."
Leonard was born and grew up in the Los Angeles area. He became a basketball prodigy in California, winning the state's Mr. Basketball award in 2009 before playing two years at San Diego State University.
The Clippers have been a fixture in rumors over Leonard's future. They were among the teams that made an offer to the San Antonio Spurs for the two-time All-Star before he was eventually traded to the Toronto Raptors.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported in September the Clippers, who will have two max-salary slots available next summer, were "emerging as a front-runner" for Leonard.
Leonard's current deal includes a $21.3 million player option for next season. He's off to an MVP-caliber start in 2018-19 with the Raptors, averaging 26.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists in eight games.
