Toronto Raptors: Does it matter if Kawhi goes to the Clippers or Lakers?

Kawhi Leonard could potentially leave the Toronto Raptors once free agency begins. Does it matter if he goes to the Los Angeles Clippers or the Los Angeles Lakers?

Free agency is set to open at 6 PM on June 30 and it’s shaping up to be one for the ages. A lot of the talk — especially for Toronto Raptors fans — predicated around the movements of Kawhi Leonard.

The potential destinations for Leonard seem pretty set in stone now. He can return to Toronto, with the team that just won their first ever NBA championship, knowing that he has a mutual trust with the coaching staff. The Raptors know what they can offer him.

The alternative for Leonard is out west. From there, he could realistically sign with either L.A. team. He could take the glamorous route and join the Los Angeles Lakers, teaming up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis to create a top-heavy super team. The other option is the team commonly referred to as the “other team in Los Angeles”, the Los Angeles Clippers.

Obviously, it matters wherever Kawhi ends up. But what if it’s not in Toronto? What if Leonard decides to take his All-World talent elsewhere, more specifically, back home to California?

Does it matter then?

In all honesty, no, not really. Leonard leaving alters the Raptors championship window drastically. As would be the case with any teams best player leaving in free agency. But the specifics of where he ends up doesn’t alter the timeline at all. If Leonard leaves for the Clippers the window closes, if he leaves for the Lakers, it closes. You get the idea.

Leonard moving onto pastures new leaves Kyle Lowry as the teams best player once more, with a budding superstar in the wings, in the shape of Pascal Siakam. That doesn’t change depending on where he goes. The Raptors will most likely make the same moves to reshuffle their roster regardless of the destination.

Admittedly, Kawhi joining the Lakers does make the league a little more lopsided. A core of James and Davis is strong and worthy of a title run. With Leonard, though, the Lakers become the premier team in the league. There should be no doubt about that.

That’s not quite the case with the Clippers. They have a solid roster filled with some nice pieces, and sure, acquiring Kawhi pushes them closer to the front of the line, but unless Steve Ballmer splashes the cash and adds another star — say, Jimmy Butler — then the Clippers suddenly become a far more appealing championship pick.

Emotionally speaking, it might matter a bit based on your preferences. Some people might not have appreciated the Clippers hyperaggressive attitude towards acquiring Leonard, while others might just hold a grudge against the Lakers general exceptionalism. Again, does that really matter, though?

Kawhi Leonard is his own man, beholden to no one, and owes nothing to anyone. Sure, the Raptors took care of him and handled his load management the right way. They built up a trust where there was none. Kawhi Leonard left the San Antonio Spurs in acrimonious circumstances this time last year. His reasoning was based around the notion that the Spurs had failed him, breaking his trust.

That’s all true, but Kawhi Leonard delivered something to the Toronto Raptors that no other star in the team’s history could: an NBA championship. A whole country owes that to Kawhi Leonard — and every other member of the team.

This is all a roundabout way of saying: “No, it doesn’t really matter.”

It might hurt. It probably will hurt, if he does end up leaving, but Leonard exists in rarified in Canadian sports history. There’s no changing that.

The past can’t be altered, and you probably won’t want it to be altered in any way. The future of Kawhi Leonard is in the hands of Kawhi Leonard, and no one else. We all own the memory of this season, though, even if Leonard does leave.

Whatever happens, we’ll survive.