The NBA’s free agent frenzy has had a chaotic first few days, but one star’s decision has yet to be made.
Kawhi Leonard still is weighing his options in an extremely quiet manner, causing speculations to fly, but that silent strategy is just what Leonard and his camp wants.
In an effort to “avoid upsetting” Leonard’s camp, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers officials “appear determined to say as little as possible,” according to Marc Stein of the New York Times. Stein added that the Lakers “believe they are firmly in the lead largely through the recruiting efforts and assurances made on separate fronts from Magic Johnson and LeBron James.”
Of course, Leonard is coming off an NBA title with the Toronto Raptors and the second Finals MVP of his career, so where are the incumbents in all of this? Well, according to Stein, they “haven’t backed off one centimeter,” and will be aided by a recruiting campaign from Drake.
3. The Raptors haven't backed off one centimeter and Drake is said to be mounting his own recruiting campaign on top of whatever the freshly minted champions are doing to convince him to stay
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 2, 2019
This comes after Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Haynes told ESPN Los Angeles that Leonard still is going through the decision-making process, adding that all three teams are in play.
So it appears Leonard’s radio silence is working. That means only time will tell where the All-Star forward ends up.