Lakers predicted to steal Clippers' $149 million seven-time All-Star, two-time NBA champion

The 2027 offseason is a ways away, but analysts haven’t hesitated to pinpoint assets who could land on the Los Angeles Lakers’ radar. 

In Clipperholics’ Iliyan Lakhani’s opinion, the Lakers will have a chance to steal the Los Angeles Clippers’ seven-time All-Star and two-time NBA champion.

“If you go back in time before one of the LA Clippers’ most prominent signings in franchise history, Kawhi Leonard was on the Los Angeles Lakers’ radar,” Lakhani wrote Tuesday. “They desperately wanted him to represent the iconic threads that have won 17 championships, but he chose otherwise.”

“Therefore, when the opportunity arises again in the 2027 offseason, the Lakers will inevitably pursue the veteran superstar. They will be able to easily arrange for the money to pay him, and on top of that, he has proven that playing at a top-ten level in his mid-30s is light work, given his averages this season of 27.9 points on exceptional splits.”

Lakhani is spot on with his assessment of Leonard. The former Toronto Raptors star was linked to the Lakers shortly before signing with the Clippers in 2019. 

While Leonard’s decision was devastating for the Lakers at the time, they could find themselves with another opportunity to convince the San Diego State product to take his talents to the premier NBA franchise in Los Angeles. 

With Leonard still exhibiting his stellar two-way chops at age 34 (he’s averaging 27.9 points and 2.1 steals per game while shooting 49.1% from the field and 38.3% from beyond the arc), the Lakers should expect the future Hall of Fame forward still to be an elite contributor a year from now.

The ball will be in the Lakers’ court during the 2027 offseason.

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