The Lakers have been warned they will have to perform well this season in order to prise Leonard away from the Toronto Raptors.
That’s according to Radio host and NBA insider Ric Bucher, who states he would be surprised if Leonard bases his decision solely on wanting to live closer to home.
A lot was reported in the past few months over Leonard’s preference to head to Los Angeles and be closer to where he grew up.
Instead, the San Antonio Spurs traded him to the Raptors in a deal centred around DeMar DeRozan.
The Lakers have reportedly been Leonard’s preferred destination, with the Clippers also in the mix.
But those two teams will have to either wait until Leonard becomes a free agent next summer, or attempt to strike a deal with Toronto before the trade deadline.
The 27-year-old immediately makes the Raptors a serious contender in the Eastern Conference, depending on his injury status, while the Lakers and Clippers will be competing in a stacked Western Conference.
Both teams in Los Angeles will be fighting for a playoff spot but it is the Lakers who will be aiming to considerably improve their previous season performances with LeBron James on board.
And Bucher suggests the success of either team in Los Angeles could determine where Leonard chooses to go in 2019.
“Part of it is obviously the Raptors selling him being in Toronto but I think there’s also a matter of what transpires in the market,” Bucher said on SportsNet.
“He wants to go to L.A. and both teams think they’re a viable option. It’s not just the Lakers, the Clippers feel like it’s the market as much as a specific team.
“Over the course of this year, depending on what happens with the Lakers and the Clippers, there’s a possibility at the end of the season the Raptors look like the better situation.
“I can’t help but feel Kawhi and his uncle, Dennis Robinson, are looking at this in a big-picture scope.
“If you’re telling me Kawhi’s going to make his decision strictly based on living close to where he grew up then I’m going to have to change my perspective on what the make-up of a guy who wins Finals MVP is all about because it’s just really hard for me to believe that a guy who has demonstrated he can be that competitive will base his entire decision on geography.”