Less than a day after he was traded to the Toronto Raptors, it appears star forward Kawhi Leonard has already started making early plans for free agency.
While the 27-year-old is under contract in Toronto for the 2018-19 season, his mindset might already be on joining forces with a new squad of players next offseason.
According to Bruce Arthur on the “Back 2 Back” podcast, Leonard has started talking to other stars about joining forces next summer.
FRESH @back2backpod CLIP
The great @bruce_arthur joined the show with some serious intel, reporting word that Kawhi has already talked to other stars about potentially joining up next summer.
"And it wasn't just LA he was talking about."
Full POD: https://t.co/Fr1kv9QSgq pic.twitter.com/J3xNtI5a0O
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) July 18, 2018
Leonard has interest in returning to Los Angeles, however, it appears the All-Star forward could potentially be a part of a super team elsewhere. According to the report, the Brooklyn Nets might be on the short list as a potential landing spot for Leonard and other stars next summer.
It’s a surprising report given how forgotten the Nets have become in recent seasons as one of the worst teams in the league. The Nets are on the rise and could be positioned to be major players next offseason with a lot of cap space to dramatically improve their roster.
Toronto took a gamble when it traded guard DeMar DeRozan for one season of Leonard. While they will hope to convince him that he should stay with the Raptors beyond this season, it appears he has other ideas.