All eyes have been on the Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard after news broke of alleged salary cap circumvention. That has led to a flood of calls for the Clippers to be heavily punished and for the NBA to void Leonard’s contract.
The prospects of Leonard’s contract being voided may seem far-fetched, but NBA insider John Hollinger recently mentioned that possibility on a recent Hollinger and Duncan podcast. Co-host Nate Duncan agreed that it was what should happen if the league takes the accusations seriously.
That seems increasingly likely with more apparently damning evidence coming out by the day. If the NBA does, then it could mean that Leonard would suddenly become a free agent. If that happens, it will be a frenzy, with top teams hoping to sign him on a one-year deal to try and put them over the top.
One team would be the Lakers, who play in the same city and were linked to Leonard before he was traded to the Toronto Raptors and again during 2019 free agency. While Kawhi chose the Clippers instead, he could finally end up on the Lakers in a wild turn of events.
Could the Los Angeles Lakers land Kawhi Leonard?
If Leonard’s contract is voided, then the Lakers would have as good a shot as any team to persuade him. He wouldn’t have to go far to continue his career by signing with Los Angeles.
And while they can only offer the minimum, they would be able to give him a max contract next summer by using most of what could be a massive amount of cap space they would have at their disposal.
Imagine a trio of Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Leonard together for a season; that would instantly propel the Lakers into title contention. In fact, it would probably make them title favorites.
Leonard joining the Lakers is a long shot, but technically possible
While Leonard has shown reluctance to play with LeBron in the past, he may be willing to for one season, knowing that LeBron won’t be back with L.A. after next year. That would then pair him with Doncic for the next few years and give Doncic the perfect co-star at the Clippers’ expense.
Overall, if the NBA finds the reporting surrounding Leonard and the Clippers to be true, then it could open the door to his contract being voided. If that happens, then the Lakers would seemingly be the perfect landing spot.
After all, they also play in L.A., have two other superstars, and can afford to sign him to a max contract after next season. We’ll have to wait and see how the Leonard situation plays out, but it’s not impossible that that ultimately happens.
