As one of the best two-way players in the world, Kawhi Leonard is a bonafide superstar and we’ve already seen him win two championships in his NBA career. With the Clippers, Kawhi has yet to win the Larry O’Brien trophy but they claim it’s only because Leonard’s demand for talented teammates is so high.
“The thinking, team sources say, is that a team built around the oft-injured Leonard simply must have as much elite talent as possible as a way of mitigating the seemingly inevitable injuries that have come to define this Clippers era,” wrote Sam Amick of The Athletic.
Kawhi, a 2x champion, has always been at his best when surrounded by an elite group of teammates. With the Spurs, he had Tim Duncan and Tony Parker to lead the way. With the Raptors, they had enough talent back then to stay afloat in Kawhi’s absence and when he was healthy enough in the post-season, they were able to win it all.
The Clippers have mostly the worst of Kawhi so far. While he’s been fine on the court, Leonard has struggled to even show up when it matters. In back-to-back postseasons, he was unavailable for his team and it cost them dearly on both occasions. This time, with several core players at the end of their contracts, the franchise is making it a point to re-evaluate their position.
Clearly, when it comes to Leonard, they believe that going all-out to build the most stacked team possible is the only way to ensure they can withstand his poor attendance and it’s likely why they traded for James Harden halfway through the season. But now, after another playoff loss, nobody knows what’s next for the Clippers or if Kawhi can ever reach the final levels of the playoffs again.
Did Kawhi Leonard Make A Mistake In 2019?
While stacking elite talent is far from an original idea, the Clippers thought they were uniquely positioned to give Leonard the proper conditions to thrive. In a city he likes with a franchise that gives him the ultimate freedom, it’s fair to say the Clippers are feeling good about Kawhi’s loyalty to their team.
Even so, if winning is really his top priority, Kawhi would have never left the Raptors. He joined a team at the time that had Kyle Lowry, Norman Powell, Marc Gasol, Pascal Siakam, and Serge Ibaka, among others. They won 58 games that year and were top five in both offense and defense.
The Raptors miraculously won the championship in Kawhi’s first season there and it wound up being his last one. Despite his success with the franchise, he turned his back on them a few weeks later in free agency, when he signed with the Clippers on a multi-year deal.
After teaming up with Paul George, Kawhi was expected to win multiple titles with the Clippers but he has yet to return to the Conference Finals since leaving the Raptors. With the Clippers, Leonard has dealt with never-ending obstacles from injuries to COVID and unexpected playoff collapses.
At 32 years old, Kawhi still has time to bring glory to the Clippers and reward their patience with the ultimate prize. But unless the team is able to build a roster that can stay afloat without him, Kawhi may never see the deep playoffs again and his Clippers tenure will be defined by what he wasn’t able to do for the franchise.
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