Stephen A. Smith: Kawhi Leonard ‘Seriously Considering’ Lakers In Free Agency

A month ago, the Los Angeles Lakers’ future looked uncertain. Now, they might be on the precipice of assembling arguably the greatest superteam of this NBA era.

The Lakers already have LeBron James in the fold, obviously, and they’re reportedly going to add Anthony Davis in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans. They also have Kawhi Leonard — perhaps the best player in the NBA today — in the crosshairs as well, and the interest might be more mutual than we’re realizing.

It seems Leonard’s primary market includes three teams: the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors. Obviously, Leonard knows what the Raptors are all about, having just led them to an NBA title, and as of earlier this week, Toronto was the betting favorite (for what that’s worth) to re-sign the two-time NBA Finals MVP. Leonard long has been linked to the Clippers, and the foregone conclusion among many within NBA circles was that he’d ultimately sign with the Clippers.

However, with the Lakers freeing up cap space to sign another max player, it might be them who are able to swoop in and steal away Leonard. According to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, the Lakers are very much in play for Leonard.

“I have received word that he is seriously considering the Los Angeles Lakers,” Smith said Friday during an appearance on ESPN’s “Get Up.” ” … The Clippers are very, very nervous right now, and obviously, in the case of the Toronto Raptors, he wants to grant you a meeting, but why should he even require a meeting? He just won a championship with them. He played with them for the last year, so you’re going to listen to their pitch or whatever, but I don’t see why they would need to have a pitch. So it comes down to Toronto or one of the L.A. teams.

“You don’t dismiss the Clippers, but I was told specifically ‘Do not dismiss the Lakers. The Lakers are in play for Kawhi Leonard.’ We’ll see what happens.”

Of course, Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes recently reported Leonard is “strongly considering” a return to Toronto. So, basically, he’s doing a lot of strong consideration right now. Who knows at this point?