The Los Angeles Lakers have been aggressive in seeking a third star after acquiring Anthony Davis in a trade. The team has roughly $32 million in cap space, barely shy of the full max that could be given to a player like Kawhi Leonard and Kyrie Irving.
Leonard is seen as the premier player in this free agency class, coming off an NBA championship and Finals MVP in his first season with the Toronto Raptors.
For months, the consensus has been that the Raptors and LA Clippers are in a two-man race to sign the superstar forward. But as free agency approaches, it appears as though the Lakers have significantly closed that gap.
According to the New York Times’ Marc Stein, league insiders now believe the Lakers pose a significant threat to sign Leonard away from the Raptors and Clippers.
Things change fast in #thisleague: With free agency a day and change away, it's the Lakers who have convinced Las Vegas — and an increasing number of league insiders — that they are LA's true threat to limiting Kawhi Leonard's Raptors career to a single season. Not the Clippers
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 29, 2019
How high is the bar for the Clippers now? They might not only have to beat out Toronto … they might have to convince Kevin Durant to choose the Clippers to then convince Kawhi to choose the Clippers over the Lakers. League sources insist that the Laker threat is that significant
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 29, 2019
The next week is going to absolutely fascinating on the Kawhi front alone. The Clippers have to beat out the newly minted champions and the lords of Los Angeles. The Lakers, meanwhile, firmly believe they've got Toronto (and anyone else) beat in the Kawhi Sweepstakes. #madness
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 29, 2019
The Lakers are expected to meet with Kawhi at the onset of free agency and Magic Johnson may be (informally) involved. Both LeBron James and Anthony Davis are also expected to recruit the superstar.
Clearly, signing Kawhi would be a steal for the Lakers who would then have the most talented big three in the NBA and possibly the most loaded frontcourt in NBA history. In previous weeks, the odds of that occurring seemed to be slim but as we near free agency, it is becoming apparent that there is real momentum for the Lakers to pull off the coup.