{"id":98147,"date":"2025-09-08T14:01:29","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T14:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=98147"},"modified":"2025-09-08T14:01:29","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T14:01:29","slug":"update-amid-kawhis-controversy-the-lakers-could-find-the-opportunity-of-a-lifetime-and-fans-are-losing-their-minds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=98147","title":{"rendered":"Update: Amid Kawhi\u2019s Controversy, The Lakers Could Find The Opportunity Of A Lifetime And Fans Are Losing Their Minds"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"relative z-10\">\n<h3 class=\"my-2.5 text-black font-group-gigantic !leading-[30px] md:!leading-[44px]\">Kawhi Leonard scandal could offer Lakers an unprecedented opportunity<\/h3>\n<div class=\"article-intro mb-4 text-darkGrey font-group-large md:font-group-normal lg:font-group-large !mb-2.5 md:mb-5\">If Kawhi Leonard&#8217;s contract is voided, no other destination makes for sense than the Los Angeles Lakers.<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"mb-0 md:mb-9 relative md:mx-10 md:mb-9\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden bg-lightGrey\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_195,w_7320,h_4117\/c_fill,w_360,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k4mmaarj7eewb7d31g.jpg 1x,  \nhttps:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_195,w_7320,h_4117\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k4mmaarj7eewb7d31g.jpg 2x, \n    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_195,w_7320,h_4117\/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k4mmaarj7eewb7d31g.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 719px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_195,w_7320,h_4117\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k4mmaarj7eewb7d31g.jpg 1x, \nhttps:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_195,w_7320,h_4117\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k4mmaarj7eewb7d31g.jpg 2x, \n    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_195,w_7320,h_4117\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k4mmaarj7eewb7d31g.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 1079px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_195,w_7320,h_4117\/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k4mmaarj7eewb7d31g.jpg 1x, \nhttps:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_195,w_7320,h_4117\/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k4mmaarj7eewb7d31g.jpg 2x,\n    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_195,w_7320,h_4117\/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k4mmaarj7eewb7d31g.jpg 3x\" media=\"(min-width: 1080px)\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full\" title=\"Los Angeles Clippers v Los Angeles Lakers\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_195,w_7320,h_4117\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/GettyImages\/mmsport\/20\/01k4mmaarj7eewb7d31g.jpg\" alt=\"Los Angeles Clippers v Los Angeles Lakers\" width=\"7320\" height=\"4117\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex items-center gap-4 ml-1 pb-2 mt-4 md:m-3 text-darkGrey font-group-tiny\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center gap-4 ml-1 pb-2 mt-4 md:m-3 text-darkGrey font-group-tiny\"><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Los Angeles Clippers v Los Angeles Lakers | Katelyn Mulcahy\/GettyImages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\" class=\"flex flex-wrap justify-center lg:justify-normal\">\n<div class=\"flex lg:mr-4 lg:w-[calc(70%-3em)] max-w-full\"><main class=\"min-w-0 flex-1 odesa-article-main\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"viewablity-block\">\n<div class=\"article-content [&amp;_p]:leading-[30px] [&amp;_p]:md:leading-[28px] [&amp;_li]:leading-[30px] [&amp;_li]:md:leading-[28px]\">\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Voiding Kawhi Leonard&#8217;s contract with the Los Angeles Clippers is not out of the realm of possibility for Adam Silver and the NBA. That was the notion NBA insider Sam Amick put forward during a recent appearance on The Athletic&#8217;s NBA Daily.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;&gt;iframe]:max-w-full flex justify-center relative aspect-video overflow-hidden max-w-full bg-black [&amp;&gt;iframe]:absolute [&amp;&gt;iframe]:top-0 [&amp;&gt;iframe]:left-0 [&amp;&gt;iframe]:w-full [&amp;&gt;iframe]:h-full [&amp;&gt;iframe]:border-0 my-f-1\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pablo Torre on Kawhi Leonard, Clippers' Secret\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/s_f_7WB49Rg?feature=oembed\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Amick said, &#8220;It was in no uncertain terms told to me that Adam sees salary cap circumvention as the cardinal sin of the NBA. &#8230; So, if they&#8217;re going to follow through on that energy, &#8230; voiding of a player contract is on the table.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">The insider thought if the NBA could prove that Kawhi was influenced to stay with the Clippers and sign team-friendly deals that allowed Los Angeles more flexibility that &#8216;cuts at the fabric of the league&#8217; that Silver has tried to grow. It would be an opportunity for the NBA commissioner to show he has the ability to throw around an &#8216;iron fist&#8217; much like his predecessor.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">If Leonard&#8217;s contract were to be voided, and the desire to continue playing in 2025-26 existed after the dust settled, this is where the Los Angeles Lakers come in. It would offer Rob Pelinka a chance at a borderline superstar for pennies on the dollar.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Lakers getting perfect storm for free agency steal of a lifetime<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">At this point of the NBA offseason, no teams really have the financial wiggle room to give Leonard the type of contract the Clippers star would otherwise demand. That could play heavily in the favor of the Lakers.<\/p>\n<p>Granted, in the scenario of Leonard hitting free agency, the Lakers would really need to ask themselves if\u00a0the potential headache is worthwhile. Pablo Torre&#8217;s\u00a0story of alleged wrongdoing\u00a0certainly does not paint Kawhi in the most favorable light.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Lakers have shown they are willing to run the gamble on risky situations as recently as this offseason. The\u00a0signing of Deandre Ayton\u00a0showed that much. The\u00a0pursuit of Bradley Beal, who had plenty of attitude, injury, and defensive concerns, only reaffirms that.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">At the end of the day, this is Kawhi. Getting a substantial discount on a two-time NBA champion and NBA Finals MVP is not something that just happens every offseason.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">When Leonard finally pieced things together with his health towards the end of the 2024-25 season, the Clippers star looked elite once more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Kawhi averaged 25.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game, shooting 53.7 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from 3-point against the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">The Lakers would\u00a0need a consolidation trade before pursuing the potential move. However, those are the type of hoops worth jumping through for a player of Kawhi&#8217;s quality.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Los Angeles is still home for Leonard. If the two-way star is forced to abandon the Clippers, the Lakers are the only other game in town.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/main><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kawhi Leonard scandal could offer Lakers an unprecedented opportunity If Kawhi Leonard&#8217;s contract is voided, no other destination makes for sense than the Los Angeles Lakers. Los&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":98148,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Update: Amid Kawhi\u2019s Controversy, The Lakers Could Find The Opportunity Of A Lifetime And Fans Are Losing Their Minds - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=98147\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Update: Amid Kawhi\u2019s Controversy, The Lakers Could Find The Opportunity Of A Lifetime And Fans Are Losing Their Minds - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kawhi Leonard scandal could offer Lakers an unprecedented opportunity If Kawhi Leonard&#8217;s contract is voided, no other destination makes for sense than the Los Angeles Lakers. 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