The Raptors were suspicious the superstar’s intentions.
Going into free agency, there was a ton debate as to where Kawhi Leonard would sign. Some thought he would go to the Lakers while others wanted to see him run it back for another year with the Toronto Raptors. In the end, Leonard ended up signing with the Los Angeles Clippers who are now one the teams favored to win the NBA Championship next season. Leonard was secretive about where he wanted to go and according to TSN’s Josh Lewenberg, he made it very difficult for the Raptors to keep him
In the report, it states that Leonard’s camp had “unreasonable” requests for the Raptors and that team president Masai Ujiri quickly became suspicious about Kawhi’s intentions.
“I know what we’re dealing with here and I appreciate what the process was,” Ujiri said. “I know free agency, I know how it works. It’s not my first rodeo. You know things are going to go up and down. This was a different kind free agency. It was high stakes and we understood that.”
Kawhi’s infamous “Uncle Dennis” is believed to be at the forefront these requests and has been known to be a bit a nuisance in the past, especially when Leonard was with the Spurs.
It’s pretty clear the Leonard had his heart set on Los Angeles so Raptors fans shouldn’t feel too bad. At least they got a championship out him.