Here we are again. A superstar small forward with a year left on his contract informs his team he no longer wants to play there, and would rather play for the league’s glitziest franchise. Said glitzy franchise, the Los Angeles Lakers, offers only a pittance to trade for the superstar, confident that he’ll join in free agency next summer anyways. So another franchise swoops in, confident in their ability to sell the superstar on their franchise in the one year they have him for.
So it was with Paul George and Oklahoma City last year, so it is again with Kawhi Leonard, who has been traded to the Toronto Raptors, per Woj.