Kawhi Leonard & Jimmy Butler Don’t Want To Play With LeBron On Lakers

TheSportster

By Alex Hoegler

Published Oct 16, 2018

Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler are reportedly not interested in joining LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers next year.

Oct 11, 2018; New Orleans, LA, USA; Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard on the bench during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers will have the chance to land another superstar or two in 2019 free agency to complement LeBron James, but you can probably scratch two potential names off their wish list.

Dan O'Connor of The Ringer reports "there are whispers around the league" that Toronto Raptors star Kawhi Leonard and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jimmy Butler don't have the desire to team up with James and the Lakers in 2019 free agency.

Both Leonard and Butler are expected to opt out of their contracts and thus enter free agency next year. Initial reports said Leonard's desire was to join the hometown Los Angeles Lakers or Clipper. But ever since James signed with the Lakers, it's been widely reported that the Clippers alone top Leonard's wish list now.

It's also worth noting that ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Clippers, Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks top Butler's preferred trade destinations wish list. He requested a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves last month, but no deal has come to fruition yet.

Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Heat and Houston Rockets have been the more aggressive teams in trading for Butler, not the Clippers. So if they're to land Leonard and/or Butler, it will have to come via free agency next year.

Leonard was traded to the Raptors after a falling out with the San Antonio Spurs. The trade market for Leonard wasn't great, so he didn't get to join an LA-based team. It's been reported that he's open about the city of Toronto and could wind up re-signing the max extension with them.

James and Lakers fans needn't panic yet. DeMarcus Cousins and Kevin Durant are among the other superstars that could hit the market next year, and the team has lots of young assets they could move to land a superstar.

Maybe Butler and Leonard don't want to play with James, but that doesn't mean other world class talents want to avoid playing with the GOAT of this era.

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