NBA Rumors: Latest on Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and More Free Agency Buzz
NBA free agency opened on Sunday night, and the dominoes immediately began falling. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving agreed to deals with the Brooklyn Nets, while Kemba Walker agreed to join the Boston Celtics.
In a surprising move, the Golden State Warriors also landed point guard D'Angelo Russell via a sign-and-trade with Brooklyn.
The Russell deal may end up being one of the more impactful moves of the offseason. It potentially gives the Warriors enough firepower to overcome the loss of Durant and the long-term recovery of Klay Thompson (ACL). It also puts pressure on teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, who were hoping to rise in the Western Conference while Golden State was vulnerable.
Los Angeles may still be able to form a championship roster, of course. They'll have LeBron James and Anthony Davis after the Davis deal becomes official on July 6, and they're making a heavy push to sign reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard.
"They clearly believe they have a shot at Kawhi Leonard," Fox Sports 1's Nick Wright said on First Things First. "And we know that because almost all their eggs are in this basket."
The good news for Los Angeles is that Leonard will listen to their sales pitch, and he'll reportedly hear from both owner Jeannie Buss and may also listen to the pitch from team executive Rob Pelinka.
"While Leonard's camp had initially requested that only Lakers controlling owner Jeanie Buss be present from the team's front office, they have considered expanding the meeting to include Pelinka, according to people with knowledge of the situation," Tania Ganguli and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times wrote.
If Leonard does meet with both Buss and Pelinka, he should be able to get a clear picture of what the Lakers' plan for the next few seasons is going to look like.
Leonard is likely to be the next big domino to fall in free agency, and his decision won't just affect the team he joins.
Fellow Toronto Raptor Danny Green is waiting on Leonard's decision before he makes his own free-agent choice, according to Vivek Jacob of Yahoo Sports:
As Jacob pointed out, Green is drawing interest from the Lakers, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks.
While Leonard may be the big target for Los Angeles, he certainly isn't the only one. According to Fox Sports 1's Chris Broussard, the Lakers are also eying Green, Seth Curry and Andre Iguodala—if his contract is bought out by the Memphis Grizzlies.
Per Broussard, the Lakers have also extended an offer to Rajon Rondo.
Though not an unrestricted free agent, Warriors point guard Quinn Cook is drawing interest of his own. According to Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype, the restricted free agent is getting looks from several teams, including the Washington Wizards, Philadelphia 76ers, Mavericks and Nets.
Though the Warriors will be able to match any offer Cook is given, they may view Cook as expendable after the acquisition of Russell.
