Kawhi Leonard has yet to make a decision regarding where he is going to play next season, although that hasn’t stopped him from talking to prospective teams and laying out his demands. Kawhi is planning on taking meetings with the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Toronto Raptors. According to Broderick Turner of the L.A. Times, Kawhi and his uncle, Uncle Dennis, have already been speaking to Lakers legend Magic Johnson about the possibility of joining the purple and gold. It is important to note here that Johnson no longer works for the team.
As you can imagine, Leonard has some demands for the franchise and many of them have to do with his entourage. As Turner told Spectrum Sportsnet, Leonard would like to be able to bring his own staff, including trainers with him.
Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images
“LeBron James was able to bring on his own trainer, his own medical people. (Kawhi) wants to know if he can do that as well,” Turner explained. “LeBron James brought on some people that weren’t with the Lakers, and he wants to know ‘can I bring with a couple of my guys?’ … And as far as I know, the Lakers would be willing to do that, because you do those things for superstar players.”
These demands make sense considering Kawhi had problems with the San Antonio Spurs medical staff during the 2017-2018 season. These well-documented issues led to his trade to the Raptors.
It is believed that Kawhi will reveal his decision later this week and is committed to taking his time.
