Los Angeles Lakers and the Raptors emerged as early favorites as the NBA waited to see who was going to sign Kawhi Leonard, but ultimately he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. Now that the dust has settled, the behind-the-scenes details of what led to that decision have continued to surface, and according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the Lakers felt played by Leonard.
"I’ve heard complaints in the days after the signing," Windhorst explained. "I heard complaints from the Lakers that they got played. I heard complaints from the Raptors that Kawhi came in and asked for the sun, the moon, the stars then left them at the altar." Both the Raptors and the Lakers were hoping to sign the Finals MVP, organizing multiple meetings with him. It's been indicated that Leonard always knew he was signing with the Clippers, however, with the Lakers reportedly feeling as though he led them on completely.
It recently surfaced that Leonard and his camp made "unreasonable" requests during the negotiation process with the Raptors, which made the team skeptical of his desire to resign. Some reports also implied that Leonard was apprehensive toward signing with the Lakers because of the idea of forming a superteam with LeBron James.
