Josh Lewenberg, the beat writer for the Toronto Raptors, revealed one of the surprising reasons why Kawhi Leonard chose the Clippers over the Raptors last summer.
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The LA Clippers got knocked out of the playoffs in humiliating fashion. Up 3-1 in the series and holding double-digit leads in all 3 final games, the Clippers got humbled in all 3 second halves by the Denver Nuggets.
Kawhi and Paul George came up way short in Game 7, combining for just 24 points on 26% shooting.
Josh Lewenberg’s surprising Kawhi free agency revelation
According to Lewenberg, Kawhi did not think the Raptors were good enough of a supporting cast for him to run it back. Leonard had one of the greatest postseason runs of all time last year, averaging over 31 points en route to winning the Finals MVP.
Much of his team refused to show up consistently, especially in the second round series against the Philadelphia 76ers.
There were obviously other reasons why he chose the Clippers, including and especially his desire to go home, but one of the things Kawhi told the Raptors when he met with them in Toronto last summer, according to a source, was that he didn’t think they were good enough to repeat
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) September 16, 2020
He may not regret his decision – Kawhi doesn’t strike me as a person that lives with many regrets, and he did get to go play at home, after all – but, if nothing else, now he knows what he left behind in Toronto. They would have been good enough.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) September 16, 2020
Leonard made the decision to move to the Clippers presumably on the back of assurances for Steve Ballmer that they would trade for a second star to join him.
It looks like a bad decision now, with the benefit of hindsight. The Clippers barely improved on last season’s record with the duo, while the Raptors improved their win percentage without Kawhi and took the Eastern Conference semis to 7 games.
