Really interest article/interview with Kawhi Leonard explaining the process, and why he signed with the Clips. It's long, and there's a lot of good stuff so I'm only going to post one excerpts. But three big takeaways:
1) This is the kind of explanation that makes it much easier for fans to accept why he left Toronto. It's honest, and he's not trying to "sell" anyone anything. The mere fact that he was willing to sit down and talk about all this means a lot. Unlike some others who will remain nameless....
2) From his perspective - he wasn't stringing anyone along, or misleading any of the other teams. He was actually engaging in the process in the way it is
supposed to work. Without secret, back-channeling dealing prior to the date on which you can legally talk with free agents. So the only reason he looked (to some) like a manipulative drama queen for "dragging this out" was because he was actually doing everything above board, and in the right way. And along with that....
3) Huge dig at the Lakers:
“
Everybody knew where I wanted to play last year during the trade, and it was the Lakers or Clippers and wanting to come back home,” Leonard told Yahoo Sports. “Once we were able to get [Paul] to be a part of this with me, I already knew he wanted to play at home, too. I felt like it was a great opportunity. I trusted the front office for the most part when I went through the process. They did everything right, just letting me play ball and not trying to call anyone’s cell phone. They took the right steps of doing it the legal way and waited until they were able to talk to me, and I liked that about them.”
“I didn’t lead anyone on,” Leonard told Yahoo Sports. “I took my time in free agency, as I should, to make sure I made the best decision for myself and my family."
sports.yahoo.com
Awesome stuff overall.