Lakers: Magic Johnson Confident He Could Have Signed Kawhi Leonard In Summer Of 2019

Former Lakers president of basketball operations says he would’ve landed Kawhi Leonard as a free agent

The NBA free agent class of 2019 was among the best free agent classes of all time. 

Names like Klay Thompson, Jimmy Butler, Kyrie Irving, Khris Middleton, and Kevin Durant headlined this insanely stacked free agent class. 

Alongside those handful of All-Stars and future Hall of Famers was then Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard, who had the opportunity to choose whatever team he wanted to play for at the time. Some experts considered Leonard, the best free agent in the class. 

The Raptors, Los Angeles Clippers, and Los Angeles Lakers were in on Kawhi, and all had a serious shot at signing the two-time Finals MVP. Ultimately, the Clippers signed the two-time champion, and now we're here. 

However, NBA and Laker legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson believes Leonard would have been a Laker if he had remained the president of basketball operations.

When asked on the "All the Smoke" podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson about how close the Lakers were to acquiring Kawhi, Magic immediately interrupted and had this to say.

"Oh, I would have had Kawhi. When I come in and close a deal, it's done. I do my homework, I do my research. So when I get you in that room, I already know what you want, and I'm going to just lay it out to you." 

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One thing you can't say is Magic isn't confident. 

Whether Magic could've pulled off adding Kawhi will remain a "what if" scenario.

Johnson resigned as the Lakers' president of basketball operations in early April 2019 after an underwhelming stint in the front office. 

However, if what Magic is saying is true, can you imagine LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and Anthony Davis all on the same team?!?! That's insane to think about. 

That big three would arguably be the most incredible big three to grace the floor together. 

Instead, Leonard plays for the other L.A. team, and even though the Clippers have gotten the best of the Lakers in that period, the Lakers secured their 17th championship in franchise history. In contrast, the Clippers have yet to make a finals appearance. 

It is nice to dream, though.