Lakers News: Latest Buzz on Kawhi Leonard to Clippers, Free-Agent Signings
The Los Angeles Lakers had a dream of forming a superteam with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard. Unfortunately, many fans awoke on Saturday morning to learn that the dream was dead. After a week of speculation, Leonard announced that he would be coming to Los Angeles, but to join the Clippers.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Leonard had been trying to form his own dynamic duo with forward Paul George. Once the Clippers acquired him from the Oklahoma City Thunder, they had Leonard as well.
Given how quiet he tends to be, we may never know all of Leonard's reasons for choosing the Clippers over the Lakers. What we do know is that he wanted to play with George—and the Clippers feared that without getting a deal done, they'd be looking up at the Lakers for the foreseeable future.
"The Clippers had come to believe that, without a deal for George, Leonard was prepared to sign with the Lakers and create a Staples Center partnership with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, sources said," Wojnarowski wrote Saturday.
Of course, the leaked details of Magic Johnson's conversation with Leonard may not have helped the Lakers' case—even though Johnson no longer officially represents the franchise.
"Teams have simply been told this, 'If information on your presentation gets out, you're really imperiling your chance to sign Kawhi Leonard,'" Wojnarowski said on ESPN 2 on Wednesday (h/t Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk).
The Lakers still may have been close to landing Leonard. According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, his camp asked Los Angeles to delay the Anthony Davis trade—which at least suggests he still had interest in the Lakers, though no reason was given for the demand.
As we now know, though, the George deal got done, and Leonard made his choice.
With Leonard out of the picture, the Lakers must now focus on filling out a roster that can support James and Davis. While this may feel a little disappointing after all the Leonard buzz, it's a scenario most Lakers fans would have gladly accepted a couple of months ago.
Los Angeles didn't waste any time getting the ball rolling, either. Per Wojnarowski, the Lakers landed shooter Danny Green on a two-year deal. According to Shelburne, they're also bringing back JaVale McGee and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on two-year deals:
Los Angeles also landed former Golden State Warriors guard Quinn Cook, according to Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes:
The biggest addition may have been saved for last, though. Wojnarowski reported DeMarcus Cousins, also formerly of the Warriors, had agreed a one-year deal with the Lakers.
Cousins—who previously played with Davis with the New Orleans Pelicans—was waiting to see what moves the Lakers will make before finalizing his own free-agency decision, per Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press:
While Cousins may never be the same player he was before suffering a torn Achilles, he was a solid role player for the Warriors last year, averaging 16.3 points per game and shooting 48 percent from the field.
Cook isn't a player some Lakers fans will be familiar with, but he is a great fit for what the franchise is trying to build. He's a terrific shooter—46.5 percent from the floor and 40.5 percent from the field last season—and he's a consummate professional and willing role player, according to former head coach Steve Kerr.
"He understands the value of hard work, the value of staying ready and producing when we call upon you and not complaining and supporting everyone else when we don't," Kerr said last year, per Mark Medina of the Bay Area News Group. "But not everybody is like that."
The Lakers need shooters around James and Davis. They also need guys who are willing to move in and out of the lineup and play supporting roles, and they appear to have ticked most of those boxes with Saturday's reported moves.
