After winning the championship with the Toronto Raptors, the popular opinion of where Kawhi Leonard will go in free agency has shifted. While we spent the entirety of the 2018-19 season assuming he would leave The North for the Los Angeles Clippers, it appears more likely than ever he will stay in Toronto for at least one year.
However, there remains one particular scenario that could swing things back in the Clippers favor. According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, if Philadelphia’s Jimmy Butler commits to the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard may indeed follow.
There are many scenarios seemingly in play, but sources say one in particular looks increasingly possible: Butler teaming up with Leonard on the Clippers. There are strong indications that Leonard is interested in having Butler as a running mate, and it’s the sort of powerful pairing that would certainly vault the Clippers into contention.
The Lakers reportedly believe they can create space for Leonard, whom they believe has some interest in joining them. But the Clippers ability to both pay Butler and Leonard a max contract makes the process for that move a lot more seamless. It would also put Leonard in a situation where he’s not under the LeBron-Lakers-Anthony Davis microscope.
However, whether Butler would be willing to go to the Clippers alone without a commitment from Kawhi that he would join them remains to be seen. And with the Houston Rockets reportedly in hot pursuit of Butler, such a scenario for the Clippers seems anything but simple.
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