The Los Angeles Lakers count their “blessings” all the time that NBA star Kawhi Leonard didn’t sign with them in 2019, according to Lakers Daily.
Leonard left the Toronto Raptors for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019. The two-time Finals MVP met with the Lakers, but he chose to join the Clippers.
“We wanted him in 2019, but we count our blessings all the time he’s not here,” the Lakers source said. “He’s been such a headache for the Clippers. I actually feel bad for them sometimes.”
The Clippers have never reached the NBA Finals in franchise history. Meanwhile, the Lakers won the 2020 championship at the Walt Disney World bubble behind superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Leonard and the Clippers had a 3-1 lead against the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the 2020 playoffs. LAC blew the lead and lost the series in seven games.
A future Hall of Famer, Leonard tore his right ACL against the Utah Jazz in the second round of the 2021 playoffs. The Clippers beat the Jazz but lost to the Phoenix Suns in the conference finals without Leonard.
Leonard missed the entire 2021-22 season due to his ACL injury. Without him, the Clippers missed the 2022 playoffs.
One of the top two-way players in the NBA, Leonard played in 52 games for the Clippers in the 2022-23 season. He suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee in the first round of the 2023 playoffs against the Suns and LAC lost the series.
Leonard appeared in 68 games for the Clippers in 2023-24 and made the All-NBA Second Team. However, his surgically repaired right knee troubled him in the first round of the 2024 playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks and he only played in Games 2 and 3.
A two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Leonard played in 37 games for the Clippers last season. LAC lost to Denver in the first round of the 2025 playoffs in seven games.
Leonard and the Clippers are currently in hot water. According to Pablo Torre of Pablo Torre Finds Out, the now-bankrupt company Aspiration paid Leonard $48 million for a “no-show job” intended to circumvent the NBA salary cap. LAC owner Steve Ballmer invested $50 million in Aspiration.
Ballmer introduced Aspiration to Leonard in November 2021, three months after the Clippers had agreed to a four-year, $173 million extension with Leonard. Two months earlier, in September 2021, the Clippers announced a lucrative $300 million partnership with Aspiration.