Of the many pleas and offers that have been floated to keep Kawhi Leonard in Toronto, few were as strange as the offer from a Barbados tourism office. The island nation's marketing corporation — which keeps a Canadian office in Toronto — offered the 27-year-old an all-expenses-paid trip if he would stay in The North next season. Two guesses as to where Leonard is right now.
TMZ reports that Kawhi is splashing around the country with his girlfriend and they shared photo evidence. However, this isn't an indication that Kawhi took the company up on their offer. After all, Leonard is a young millionaire from California who just finished a long season based in Canada. He can buy his own trips if he wants to hang out in the sun. The tourism office's rep said as much while making the offer.
“With year-round sunshine, tropical breezes and crystal blue waters, Barbados is the perfect destination for Canadian visitors looking to escape the rigid Canadians seasons,” office director Peter Mayers said.
Leonard is currently being pursued by several teams, including the Raptors and both Los Angeles teams. Several organizations are attepting to finangle a package deal that would land them both Leonard and Jimmy Butler. Given that Leonard is tubing with his girlfriend in the warm waters of the Caribbean, we doubt he's thinking about salary cap gymnastics and front office machinations too hard.
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