Kawhi Leonard Reportedly Gave Raptors "Unreasonable" Requests

BYAlexander Cole25.2K Views
Link Copied to Clipboard!
Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images
Kawhi Leonard
The Raptors were suspicious of the superstar's intentions.

Going into free agency, there was a ton of debate as to where Kawhi Leonard would sign. Some thought he would go to the Lakers while others wanted to see him run it back for another year with the Toronto Raptors. In the end, Leonard ended up signing with the Los Angeles Clippers who are now one of the teams favored to win the NBA Championship next season. Leonard was secretive about where he wanted to go and according to TSN's Josh Lewenberg, he made it very difficult for the Raptors to keep him

In the report, it states that Leonard's camp had "unreasonable" requests for the Raptors and that team president Masai Ujiri quickly became suspicious about Kawhi's intentions.

"I know what we’re dealing with here and I appreciate what the process was," Ujiri said. "I know free agency, I know how it works. It’s not my first rodeo. You know things are going to go up and down. This was a different kind of free agency. It was high stakes and we understood that."

Kawhi's infamous "Uncle Dennis" is believed to be at the forefront of these requests and has been known to be a bit of a nuisance in the past, especially when Leonard was with the Spurs.

It's pretty clear the Leonard had his heart set on Los Angeles so Raptors fans shouldn't feel too bad. At least they got a championship out of him.


About The Author
Alexander Cole is the current editor-in-chief of HotNewHipHop. He started at HotNewHipHop back in 2018 where he began as a Sports and Sneakers writer. It was here where he began to hone his craft, putting his journalism degree from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, to good use. Since that time, he has documented some of the biggest stories in the hip-hop world. From the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef to the disturbing allegations against Diddy, Alex has helped HotNewHipHop navigate large-scale stories as they happen. In 2021, he went to the Bahamas for the Big 3's Championship Game. It was here where he got to interview legendary figures like Ice Cube, Clyde Drexler, and Stephen Jackson. He has also interviewed other superstar athletes such as Antonio Brown, Damian Lillard, and Paul Pierce. This is in addition to conversations with social media provocateurs like Jake Paul, and younger respected artists like Kaycyy, Lil Tecca, and Jeleel!
...