“Would’ve Signed Kawhi Leonard to the Lakers!”: Magic Johnson Claims He Could’ve Convinced $80 Million Star to Join Them

The summer of 2019 was a big summer for the NBA. The free agent market was wild and there were a lot of big names for the taking. After having a championship in Toronto, Kawhi Leonard was looking for a new home and was the hottest free agent on the market.

There were others like Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Klay Thompson. Along with that, there were a lot more names open for the taking, and the entire NBA had a wild time. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant paired up in Brooklyn. Klay Thompson stayed with the Warriors.

Kawhi Leonard took his talents to the City of Angels. However, he didn’t sign with the franchise a lot of fans had hoped for. Instead of joining the Lakers, the Klaw signed a three-year deal with the Clippers.

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Magic Johnson believes he would have gotten Kawhi Leonard to the Lakers

5x NBA Champion Magic Johnson has been associated with the Los Angeles Lakers his entire basketball career. From being drafted by the team to owning a part of it, to working in the front office, Magic has had his whole arc with the franchise.

In 2017, Johnson took over the reins from Jim Buss as the President of Basketball Operations. He cleared the way for the team to sign LeBron James. He tried to negotiate for Anthony Davis with the Pelicans, but those talks failed. In April 2019, he resigned from his post.

Later that year, Kawhi Leonard was in talks with the Lakers, till he signed with the Clippers at the last moment. Joining Matt Barnes this week on All The Smoke was none other than Magic. There he talked about how he felt like he could have led the Lakers to land the $80 Million worth star.

“Oh, I would’ve had Kawhi. When I come in to close a deal, it’s done. I do my homework, my research. When I get you in that room, I already know what you want.”

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How has Kawhi fared since he joined the Clippers?

Kawhi Leonard joined the Clippers as a 2x NBA Champion and a 2x Finals MVP. Since he signed with the franchise, the team made it to their first-ever Conference Finals. However, the Klaw was injured and the Suns took them down in six games. The duo of Paul George and Kawhi was supposed to bring the Clippers their first championship, but haven’t managed to do so in the three seasons they’ve been together.

On the other hand, the Lakers went and won the Championship the first season after Kawhi rejected them. Maybe if the Klaw signed with the Purple and Gold, he would have been a 3x Champion by now.

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