Last week, a report emerged that free agent to be Kawhi Leonard had purchased property in Toronto, potentially signalling he was planning on staying in Canada long term.
“We have heard he’s purchased a property in Toronto,” Michael Landsberg of Toronto 1050 said (h/t Andrew Holleran of The Spun). “We’ve heard this now from two different sources, indicating there’s something there.”
On Sunday, Leonard was asked about that report, and he said it “didn’t happen.”
Leonard did throw a “yet” into the response. However, it seems clear that he hasn’t been thinking that far ahead. In the meantime, the Toronto Raptors are one win away from claiming the 2019 NBA Finals over the Golden State Warriors.
Toronto is obviously making a strong case for Leonard to stay. What the Raptors have accomplished in just the first year under head coach Nick Nurse — without a superteam, no less — has been incredible. Leonard has been the biggest key, of course, and there is no way Toronto would even be in the NBA Finals without his postseason heroics this past month.
Other teams will be making a push to sign Leonard when free agency opens following the draft, and some prominent West Coast teams have surfaced as favorites to land the superstar forward. It’s going to be fascinating to see what Leonard decides to do following his amazing 2018-19 campaign.