Leonard refuses to join forces with James, Lakers are glad to escape the "catastrophe"

On September 11, an old news about Leonard sparked heated discussion. The Toronto Star's Bruce-Arthur broke the news that when Leonard became a full free agent in the summer of 2019, he made it clear that he did not want to fight alongside LeBron-James. After the news fermented, an insider of the Lakers revealed to the Lakers Daily that the Lakers are now glad that Leonard did not join the "Purple and Gold Army".

Time goes back to 2019, when Leonard met with the Lakers, a book that made Lakers fans look forward to it. However, he eventually chose to leave the Toronto Raptors and switch to the Los Angeles Clippers, who also obtained Paul George from the Thunder trade at the same time. Lakers insiders admitted: "We did want to sign him in 2019, but now we are always glad that he is not here. He has caused too much trouble to the Clippers. Sometimes I even feel sad for the Clippers."

Recalling Leonard's journey with the Clippers, there are constant twists and turns. In the second round of the 2020 playoffs, the Clippers led the Denver Nuggets 3-1 and seemed to be steadily entering the Western Conference Finals to meet the Lakers. But the situation suddenly changed, and the Clippers lost their advantage and were reversed by the Nuggets. The Lakers led by James and Davis passed the game and defeated the Miami Heat in the finals that year to win the championship.

After that, injuries followed one after another. Leonard tore the ACL in the second round of the 2021 playoffs against the Jazz. Although the Clippers eliminated the Jazz, the Western Conference Finals still lost to the Suns. Due to this injury, Leonard missed the entire 2021-22 season and the Clippers failed to advance to the playoffs.

2022 - 23 season, Leonard played 52 regular season games. In the first round of the playoffs, he scored 38 points and 31 points in the first two games, and his future seems bright. But the meniscus tear on his right knee made him miss the follow-up game, and the Clippers were eliminated.

2023 - 24 season, Leonard performed well, playing in 68 regular season games, and was selected for the All-Star and All-Squad second team. However, in the first round of the 2024 playoffs, the Mavericks team suffered an old injury to his right knee, and he only played two games. The Clippers lost to the Mavericks after six games.

Last season (2024-25), Leonard played only 37 regular season games. In the first round of the playoffs, the Clippers and Nuggets were eliminated after seven games. Now, he has made headlines for negative news. It is reported that he received $48 million in "name compensation" from the bankrupt company Aspiration, and Clippers boss Steve Ballmer once invested $50 million in the company. Seven former employees revealed that this was to help the Clippers circumvent salary cap restrictions.

Judging from Leonard's experience with the Clippers, injuries continue to affect the team's performance, and now they are deeply involved in negative news. The Lakers did not sign him back then, perhaps as insiders said, they escaped a "catastrophe". This also proves once again that the NBA's unpredictable situation, and the choices of players and teams have a profound impact on the future direction.