Report: Kawhi Leonard didn’t want to play with LeBron James on Lakers

In the summer of 2019, some people viewed Kawhi Leonard as arguably the best player in the world. He had just put together a playoff run for the ages that ended in a title for the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Playoffs.

During the Leonard sweepstakes that summer, the Los Angeles Lakers were one team heavily linked to the forward. However, Leonard reportedly didn’t want to play with LeBron James, and he instead opted to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers.

“Leonard didn’t want to play with LeBron James, so the Lakers were a third wheel in the sweepstakes,” Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star wrote.

Leonard made the choice to spurn the Raptors and Lakers for the Clippers after they traded for one of the top forwards in the NBA at the time. The Clippers traded a package highlighted by a young Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and five first-round picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Paul George.

At the time, George was on the heels of a season with the Thunder in which he ended up with the third-most votes for the MVP award. The deal for George helped the Clippers secure a commitment from Leonard, which likely explains why the team was willing to give up so much in the trade.

Largely due to injuries, however, the duo of George and Leonard failed to live up to expectations during their time together, as the Clippers didn’t so much as appear in an NBA Finals when they were teammates in Los Angeles.

Leonard’s decision to sign with the Clippers hasn’t aged incredibly well for him up to this point, but that could change in the coming season. Los Angeles boasts quite a formidable roster in light of some offseason moves, as it has added the likes of Bradley Beal, Chris Paul, Brook Lopez and John Collins to the fold to complement Leonard and James Harden.

There are clearly some nice pieces there, and a title in 2026 would help rectify Leonard’s choice to join the team years ago. At least on paper, the Clippers project to be one of the better teams in a highly competitive West. Maybe this coming season will be the year that Leonard finally gets over the championship hump in Los Angeles and adds a third title to his resume.