Kawhi Leonard is taking his talents to Los Angeles, but not to the Lakers. What does that mean for the Miami Heat though?
The Miami Heat, Miami Heat faithful, Eastern Conference teams, and collective fans of Eastern Conference teams can breathe a massive breath of relief. All-World forward Kawhi Leonard has decided to head west. The kicker here though is that it isn’t for the Purple and Gold.
Late Friday night into early Saturday morning, the news broke that Leonard would be signing with the Los Angeles Clippers over the Los Angeles Lakers and the team he just led to an NBA Championship in the Toronto Raptors. Multiple outlets, including ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski who may have had it first, are reporting that the Clippers will also acquire forward Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a multitude of picks and players.
The Clippers are sending the Thunder four unprotected first-round picks, one protected first-round pick and two pick swaps, league sources tell ESPN. Those picks go to OKC with Gallinari and SGA.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2019
While this is a massive shakeup to the NBA Western Conference, it is a glorious day for those teams that hope to contend for the Eastern Conference Championship and a bid to the NBA Finals. With that thought, what does this mean for the Miami Heat? There are several implications that can be made from these moves, but there are two that stick out more than others.
The first and smallest implication here involves current Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic. There had been suggestive reports floating around about interest from the Los Angeles Lakers since the Moratorium period opened.
If Kawhi stays with the Raptors, it seemingly (from this perspective) would put Dragic in play with the Lakers. If Leonard takes and one-and-one with Toronto, then the 2021 space race will be essential.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) July 3, 2019
While Dragic was originally thought to be on his way to Dallas in the Jimmy Butler sign and trade agreement, that didn’t exactly happen. This opened up the door for continued speculation about the Miami Heat guard possibly heading to L.A., providing that the Lakers missed out on Kawhi. Well, they did miss out and here we were.
As the Lakers quickly pounced on players to fill out their roster after missing out on Leonard, such as Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, it seemingly took Dragic out of their equation due to a lack of necessary cap space to absorb his contract. Although a trade to the Lakers is looking like it is off the table, this is still definitely a situation to monitor over the next few days.
So the Dragic option seemingly not an option -- at the moment. So could be as simple as Heat stretching Ryan Anderson to close out Butler deal. https://t.co/NlapkLwzH5
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) July 6, 2019
The second and most important implication of this deal involves the power structure of the Eastern Conference. If Kawhi had stayed in Toronto, they would have had to have been the favorites to win the conference next season, with Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Boston, and the Miami Heat slotting in somewhere behind them.
This trade not only shakes up the entire outlook of the conference, but it should give Miami Heat fans a great deal of hope, while the team should be chomping at the bit at the opportunity to do some real damage. Not that it still won’t be hard to win games in the conference en route to a top seed in the playoffs, with the Greek Freak, Joel Embiid, and a slew of improving teams to contend with, but it does make a potential path somewhat easier to see.
Realistically speaking, there are only two teams in the conference that can flat out call themselves better than the Miami Heat at this very juncture. They would be the Milwaukee Bucks, as they were one of if not the best team in the league during the last regular season, and Philadelphia, who added adored former Miami Heat player Josh Richardson and Al Horford after losing Jimmy Butler.
The Indiana Pacers made key additions, but with Victor Oladipo being sidelined for the first part of the season, they won’t be their true selves for a while. The Brooklyn Nets signed Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and DeAndre Jordan of course, but with KD out for all of next season, they don’t appear to be a top team just yet. The Celtics added Kemba Walker, who could fill in admirably for the void left by Kyrie, but losing Al Horford hurts them a ton.
With Toronto losing Kawhi, that sets them back by a mile. The other two playoff teams from last season were the Orlando Magic and the Detroit Pistons, but with the addition of Jimmy Butler, the Miami Heat should be pegged in ahead of both of those teams. The East could be had, depending on what other additions Pat Riley see’s fit to make, and even a top three or four seed gives you a great chance to get some things done in the Eastern Conference.
The Playoffs are a crapshoot if you have a guy who can take and make big shots, and Jimmy Butler is one of those guys. If the Miami Heat can find a way to put it all together at the right times next season, they have a real shot to compete with the top of the Eastern Conference, and especially with the exodus of Kawhi and Danny Green from the Raptors. These are the two major Miami Heat based implications of Leonard signing with the L.A. Clippers.