2:03 pm | June 28, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:
Kawhi Leonard will speak to the Los Angeles Lakers in the next few days and has made a personal request that only owner Jeanie Buss and Magic Johnson, the team’s former president of basketball operations, be involved in the meeting, sources told ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.
Johnson told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne on Friday that he will help the Lakers in free agency in any way he can, but he said NBA rules do not permit him to be part of official team meetings with prospective free agents.
“A friend of mine called and says Kawhi wants to meet with you,” Johnson told ESPN. “I said no problem. I’m available if that’s what this man wants.”
Johnson said he has not been asked by the Lakers or Buss to participate in free agent pitches, after he abruptly resigned from his position in April.
“I got a great life,” he said. “I’m not trying to mess with anybody’s job.”
Leonard did not opt into the final year of his contract with the Toronto Raptors, making him an unrestricted free agent.
He is expected to allow the Raptors to make the final presentation among the teams meeting with him in Los Angeles next week, league sources have told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The incumbent often prefers to go last in trying to convince a player to stay with the team.
Leonard was named NBA Finals MVP after helping Toronto win the franchise’s first championship in his first season with the team. He was acquired in a blockbuster trade with the San Antonio Spurs last summer.
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