Could this have been Kawhi’s master plan the entire time?
According to this anonymous NBA executive, he believes so.
“I think they go in hard for Leonard once the season is over and once the dust settles in San Antonio,” one executive told Sporting News. “(Leonard) wants to go to LA. There probably won’t be public demands on that, but he has leverage. He is going to be a free agent (in 2019). He’s an LA guy and he can just let teams know he won’t re-sign next year with anyone but the Lakers.”
“I would say that’s the most likely thing,” another general manager told Sporting News. “He’s going to be their target any way you look at it, this summer or next summer. There’s not many other ways to explain what’s been going on with that situation other than him trying to get out of San Antonio.”
The Lakers would likely have to give up Ingram or Kuzma to make any trade work (my bet would be Ingram), but at the moment this is all speculation that should become clearer after the NBA Finals.