By Joseph Cervantes

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3. Kawhi is a Family Man

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Kawhi Leonard grew up in Southern California and has always had a longtime dream to come back home and play for a team located in Socal. As some of you may have recalled, his preferred destination was the Los Angeles Lakers when he requested a trade from the Spurs back in June 2018. Kawhi Leonard has a Mother, a Step-Father, 4 sisters, and multiple cousins who all live in Southern California. Kawhi Leonard recently bought a $14 million house in San Diego which may not mean anything but indicates the love he has for Southern California. It would make sense for Kawhi to come back home and play for the Lakers after he reached his goal of winning a championship in Toronto.  If Kawhi happens to re-sign with the Toronto Raptors, he may never get a chance to play for an LA team ever again. Both LA teams have sacrificed signing decent free agents this off-season because of Kawhi, so it would be a big blow for the city of Los Angeles if Kawhi were to re-sign.

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2. Kawhi Wants To Win

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This 8-second video should be enough explaining what Kawhi feels for a team. Kawhi has been in the playoffs for all 8 seasons of his career. All Kawhi knows is winning after playing for teams like the Spurs and Raptors. Signing with the Lakers would instantly make them huge favorites to win the championship. Not only would the Lakers be favorited this up-coming season, but for many years after. Kawhi has never played alongside with multiple superstars, so it would be interesting to see how his game would expand by not being the biggest centerpiece on the court. Kawhi wouldn’t be double teamed by players anymore while playing alongside Lebron and Davis. Reports have been saying that Lebron pitched the idea to Leonard that he would take a “step back” and allow Leonard to have a much bigger role. Forming a super-team in LA would be respected by many people because Leonard already proved he can win on his own. Nonetheless, his resume contains 2 Finals MVP, 2 DPOY, and 2 Rings, which is a lot of accolades considering he is only 28 years old.

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1. Kawhi cares about his Body

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Kawhi Leonard is destined to play in the NBA for at least another 10 years, but by doing that he must take care of his body. In the 76er’s series, Kawhi averaged 40 minutes a game and basically “carried” the Raptors into the Eastern Conference Championship. Kawhi put so much harm into his body that series, that he had to play through an injury. The Raptors beat the Bucks in 6 games that series from a team effort and also from Kawhi’s late-game clutchness. Kawhi was still playing through an injury that series but he was still able to play. They beat the Warriors in the Finals, but in reality, it was due to the devastating injuries to Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson. Kawhi wouldn’t be able to “carry” teams throughout the playoffs anymore if he decides to sign elsewhere. He averaged 39.1 minutes throughout the entire postseason while also playing 30 games. Playing alongside two superstars would guarantee Leonard to have games off during the regular and postseason without really making an impact towards the team. Kawhi really cares about his body as shown in past history with the Spurs, so his best option to sign would be the Lakers because of superstars Lebron and Davis. Kawhi also won’t have to take over in games as many times as he did on the Raptors. That will be a huge X factor when it comes time for his decision.