The Lakers could be the biggest winners of Kawhi Leonard’s trade to the Raptors

The Spurs and Raptors are finalizing a deal that will send DeMar DeRozan to San Antonio and Kawhi Leonard to Toronto, and the biggest winner of this whole ordeal could be the Los Angeles Lakers.

It’s been merely hours since the trade has gone public, and already reports have surfaced that not only are DeRozan and Lowry unhappy, but Leonard has “no desire to play in Toronto,” according to ESPN’s Chris Haynes.

Magic Johnson, Jeanie Buss, Rob Pelinka and LeBron James should be grinning ear to ear at the news, because Leonard is set to become a free agent in 2019, and all reports have stated that he wants to play for a team in L.A. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski specifically named the Lakers as his target. There’s a chance the Lakers can save the lot — namely Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart — AND still land Kawhi Leonard to team up with LeBron next summer.

The Lakers just have to root for chaos in Toronto.

For the Lakers to win a trade they took no part in, they have to hope a number of things go wrong for the Raptors’ new team, because Leonard is set to become a free agent in the summer of 2019 and make his own decision on where he’d like to play.

First, they have to hope that Kawhi really, truly hates being in Toronto in June of next year, not just now. Maybe it’s a Canadian blizzard that startles him, maybe it’s that he and Kyle Lowry don’t mesh, maybe Kawhi plays this situation like he did the Spurs and sits out for most of the season.

Things have to be bad in one way or another and there needs to be no doubt in Leonard’s mind that Toronto is the absolute wrong place to be. The second he starts wavering is the second L.A. flops on pairing one of the best players of all time with the guy who could help win them a championship.

If the Raptors are cohesive and start winning games, that’s a problem. If the Raptors go to the Finals, that’s a problem. Recent history has to also be on L.A.’s mind too. As we’ve seen now with Paul George and the Oklahoma City Thunder, even if a team loses, happiness and friendship can be more meaningful than the desire to play for the Lakers.

Nothing over the next 12 months can change Leonard’s mind, or else the Lakers come off as losers.

If the last 365 days have taught us anything, it’s that the NBA is pure chaos no matter what time of day or month of the year it is. Kawhi Leonard could love Toronto three months from now. He could hate it throughout. Nobody knows.

It appears Los Angeles has won the first battle, though, because Kawhi didn’t land with Sixers or Celtics, which appear to be much easier sells for Leonard to stay long-term.

But there’s still a chance that the Lakers hold on to their young stars just to lose on Leonard like they did Paul George in free agency, a decision that could truly haunt them. LeBron James is turning 34 years old soon, and it already appears like this upcoming season is a building one. In its current iteration, Los Angeles isn’t a serious title contender no matter how hard it is to doubt LeBron. That means next year is the year, unless it isn’t.

If this season is spent growing Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart just to whiff on Kawhi Leonard next summer, will it have been worth it? Will the young kids be ready enough to title-hunt in 2019?

There’s a lot of questions, but if this masterplan works, there’s no doubt the Lakers have a chance to dethrone the Warriors. A starting lineup with Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and whoever else can be one of the best in the league.

The Lakers decision to let Kawhi Leonard be dealt elsewhere may be the most important one they’ve made in the Magic Johnson era. The risk is high, but the reward could turn out to be even higher should the Lakers have assets and two of the best players on the planet.