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Kawhi Leonard has just been traded to the Raptors and has passed his physical. He will be joining the team along with Danny Green from the San Antonio Spurs.
Although things seem to have settled for the moment right now, the future of Kawhi Leonard is far from decided. For one thing, he is not a happy camper moving to Toronto. So here's a look at three teams that could land him in the unrestricted free agency in 2019.
The San Antonio Spurs will not be a part of this conversation given the bad blood between them and Kawhi. They will have to settle for landing DeRozan and hope they can rebuild around him and Aldridge.
#3 Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are one of the few teams with the kind of players that can attract Kawhi Leonard in Free agency. With a core built around Irving and Hayward, they are set to achieve a lot this season. If they end up becoming conference champions or winning it all, that would be a huge incentive for Kawhi to join a championship culture. If winning rings is part of Kawhi's motivations, then he ought to seriously consider a move to the Celtics.
Playing in the easier Eastern conference will help Kawhi's chances after having played in one of the toughest divisions in the NBA for the entirety of his career. Playing for an organization as storied as the Celtics is motivation enough for most players and Kawhi will seriously consider it too come 2019.
In terms of fit, Kawhi would slide right along Tatum and Brown as another elite wing defender who can also score. He is not a high usage player so he can be on the floor at the same time as Kyrie and Hayward. His defence would help the already stingy Boston defensive unit. It could potentially be the answer to the Golden State Warriors' offence.
The Celtics had enough tradeable assets to get Kawhi this offseason but chose not to do so because of apprehensions about his health and his long-term desire to stay with the club. They won't have those problems in 2019 and will present a full deck to Kawhi to try to land him.
#2 Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors have just landed Kawhi in a trade involving their best player in DeRozan and will be hoping to be higher on this list but there are some ground realities to consider.
Kawhi, according to ESPN's Chris Haynes, had no desire to play in Toronto. This is the fundamental reason that they are not higher on the list.
The reason they are this high on the list is that of the Paul George effect and how they hope they can convince Kawhi to stay here for the long term.
For that to happen, the Raptors need to win and win now. They finished top of the Eastern Conference table last year and that wasn't enough for coach Casey to keep his job. This shows urgency on the part of management and that is a good sign.
Kawhi Leonard will get to play in an international environment, something that he may come to appreciate and with him, the Raptors are a serious threat in the Eastern Conference. Another thing helping them is, of course, the absence of LeBron James.
Kawhi is the best player in the conference and should help them reach the NBA finals if things go well.
The Raptors' system is also a good fit for Kawhi as they have players who can stretch the floor and a good defence. The fact that the Raptors kept both Siakam and Og helps their case tremendously.
Another factor to consider is that the Raptors will be able to offer Kawhi more money than any other team. This was not a point of consideration for him with the Spurs but he cannot keep turning down max contracts.
It remains to be seen if the Raptors' potential success can help them hold on to Kawhi beyond 2019.
#1 Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are the favoured destination for Kawhi in 2019. They were his favoured landing spot in 2018 but a deal couldn't be reached with the spurs as the Lakers didn't want to part with assets like Ingram and Kuzma.
They won't have to in 2019 and with Kawhi having made it clear that they are his preferred destination, they will be in the driver's seat to land him.
Often in NBA free agency, a player's preferred destination is the most important factor in his free agency decision. The reason for the particular team becoming the favoured destination may vary.
But inevitably the player ends up there. And I believe that is what will happen with the Lakers and Kawhi. Kawhi is from LA, was born and raised there, and wants to play for his hometown team.
The Lakers have a championship culture that is rivalled by few teams in professional sports. Although they haven't been near the top of the NBA for the last few seasons, with the signing of James and the maturing of their young players, they look set to contend in the future. Adding Kawhi might just put them over the top and help them go up against the Warriors in the Western Conference finals.
Having two of arguably the top three two-way players in the game on the same team would do wonders for the Lakers.
It would help their defence immensely and allow them to have Kawhi guard the opposing team's best player, freeing up LeBron to focus on his play-making duties. It would also help the growth of the young core the same way having Kyrie has helped the Boston Celtics' young players.
While it is not a sure thing, if I had to bet on one team that would land Kawhi in 2019, it would be the Lakers because of his preference and also because of their future prospects.
Guess the Lakers players!
