As the NBA offseason continues to chug along, most of the big names have committed to their teams, but there is one key free agent the NBA world is waiting to see. That would be the board man, Kawhi Leonard. The only player in NBA history to win a Finals MVP in both conferences still has yet to decide between the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, or the Toronto Raptors. Regardless, his decision will leave ripples across the league. However, if he joins the Lakers, then it will be bad for the league. Why do you ask? The league needs a rivalry, not another super team.
The NBA Could Benefit From a Cross Town Rivalry
As more and more people try to talk Kawhi Leonard to the Lakers into existence, one aspect goes overlooked: the benefits of a crosstown rivalry in this league. With a new super team in the Brooklyn Nets, their rivalry with the New York Knicks is not going to be very entertaining for a while. However, if Leonard joins the Clippers, then a very intriguing rivalry could form. The league has seen enough super teams in the past few years whether it be the Golden State Warriors or the Miami Heat.
Sorry, but it is time for LeBron James to not get his way for once. A Lakers team led by James and Anthony Davis becoming heated rivals with a Clippers team led by Kawhi Leonard, who is fresh off an NBA title, would make the NBA extremely entertaining. Not to mention, it would be more fun to watch than another super team run through the Western Conference.
Kawhi Leonard Wanting to Join Forces Makes No Sense
While he is in his right to form a super team with Anthony Davis and LeBron James, it simply seems out of character for him. This is a man who just led the Toronto Raptors their first-ever NBA Championship. A team whose second-best player, All-Star Kyle Lowry, struggled for the first portion of the postseason (no disrespect intended toward Lowry at all). It is difficult to be this guy, but forming a super team with the Lakers would be the easy way out and I’m sorry, but also somewhat of a weak move.
The West is wide open for the first time since the Golden State Warriors became relevant, and any fan outside of the Lakers’ fan base would root for Kawhi joining literally any other team than the Los Angeles Lakers. It is time to bring parity back into the West again. The Lakers getting an overpowered big three would just equal the same story in the West as the past three years, just with a different antagonist. The league would benefit the best from Kawhi Leonard joining the Clippers or staying with the Raptors. Joining LeBron James and Anthony Davis for an easy ring would just hurt the NBA in the long run.