LeBron James is known around the NBA as a star who loves to try to recruit other stars to come and play with him. Amidst all the unrest that is currently enveloping his Los Angeles Lakers, James is reportedly working to recruit fellow All-Star Kawhi Leonard to sign with the Lakers. Stephen A. Smith discussed that on ESPN’s “First Take.” “LeBron James has quietly been about the business of trying to get Kawhi Leonard to come to the Los Angeles Lakers instead of the Los Angeles Clippers,” Smith said. “So making a move like this, by not bringing in the coach that he wants, not securing that the coach that he wants in Los Angeles is his guy, you never know what dominoes are going to fall right now.” Drama has always followed James throughout his career, but ever since he decided to sign with the Lakers last summer, that drama has seemingly increased exponentially. With NBA’s free agency period nearly upon us, it will be fascinating to see how all that drama impacts both James and his team going forward. While it would have seemed like a shock mere months ago, it now seems quite possible that not a single star ends up on the Lakers to play alongside James by the time the 2019-20 season rolls around.<doc-sep>Mark Blinch/Getty Images On Thursday, Stephen A. Smith appeared on ESPN Radio with Jorge Sedano and reported that LeBron James was in Philadelphia during the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Philadelphia Sixers and Toronto Raptors. Smith suggested that LeBron was talking to Kawhi Leonard, ostensibly recruiting him to join the Los Angeles Lakers next season (h/t Erik García Gundersen of LeBron Wire). But on Friday, James' agent Rich Paul told Chris Broussard of Fox Sports 1 that the report was false: Broussard went on to note he thought there was a "slim chance" Leonard would join the Lakers this summer, citing the Los Angeles Clippers and Raptors as the frontrunners, but added, "to say there is no chance would be wrong." The 2019 offseason will be huge for the Lakers. They whiffed on their chance to add a superstar next to James last summer, with Paul George spurning them to remain in Oklahoma City, while the New Orleans Pelicans never seemed to seriously engage with them regarding Anthony Davis ahead of the trade deadline. A fresh batch of superstars can become free agents this offseason, however, including Leonard. It's unlikely James will want to play a second straight season with a young core comprised solely around Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma. But the Lakers have been something of a mess already this offseason. Former president Magic Johnson shockingly and abruptly stepped down. One head coaching candidate, Monty Williams, chose the Phoenix Suns. Negotiations fell through with another candidate, Tyronn Lue. And Lakers fans have taken to protesting the team's ownership and senior leadership. Video Play Button Videos you might like All is not well in the land of Showtime. Obviously, a lot would be remedied if LA added another star, but questions remain about who might want to join. Would Kevin Durant, for instance, want to join James rather than beat him? Ditto for Leonard. Would Kyrie Irving consider playing with James again after requesting a trade away from Cleveland toward the end of James' second run with the Cavaliers? Will players like Klay Thompson, Jimmy Butler or Tobias Harris leave their current teams? Would Kemba Walker or DeMarcus Cousins be enough to get the Lakers over the hump? With other big-market teams like the Clippers, New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets carrying plenty of cap space into this summer, it isn't out of the question that the Lakers could whiff on signing a major star. And a team like the Boston Celtics has more appealing young players and draft assets than the Lakers in any AD trade talks. The allure of Los Angeles as a destination, the Lakers history as an organization and James' status as an NBA legend could be enough to attract stars this summer. But it's far from a guarantee, and whether James is starting his recruiting early or not, it would be hard to blame him for pulling out all the stops.<doc-sep>Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James’ agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, told Chris Broussard of Fox Sports that James hasn’t been in contact with Kawhi Leonard and wasn’t in Philadelphia recently recruiting him to the Lakers. Leonard becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer once he declines his 2019-20 player option with the Toronto Raptors. When he requested a trade from the San Antonio Spurs, Leonard reportedly had the Lakers and Clippers as the two teams he wanted to be traded to. The Lakers have cap space this summer to sign a star free agent to pair next to LeBron: "I was in contact with Rich Paul, LeBron's agent today, he said it's completely false. LeBron hasn't talked with Kawhi or any of that. He wasn't in Philadelphia recruiting him." — @Chris_Broussard pic.twitter.com/TZcK201pm5 — Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) May 10, 2019 Even if James is recruiting Leonard, that’s probably something Paul and his camp would like to keep quiet. Everyone knows the Lakers want Leonard next to LeBron next season. We’ll just have to wait until free agency starts on July 1 to see if it happens. Leonard has been more heavily linked to the Clippers than the Lakers. The Clippers have cap space to sign two max contract players this offseason. Leonard wouldn’t have to play in the shadow of James if he joined the Clippers instead of the LakeShow. The Lakers are a mess right now, too, so we don’t even know if Leonard wants to join the Purple and Gold after everything that happened this season.<doc-sep>
Mark Blinch/Getty Images Stephen A. Smith of ESPN reported on SportsCenter Wednesday that LeBron James "has quietly been about the business of trying to get Kawhi Leonard to come to the Los Angeles Lakers instead of the Los Angeles Clippers." Leonard averaged 26.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals for the 58-24 Raptors, who currently lead the Philadelphia 76ers 3-2 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The 27-year-old can opt out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Leonard, who is originally from Southern California, has been heavily rumored to either return closer to home or stay in Toronto. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on Monday (h/t Johnny Ledesma) that he thinks the decision is down to the Clippers and Raptors. That is consistent with a Jan. 3 report from ESPN's Tim Bontemps, who wrote that "the popular opinion among league executives six months before Leonard makes his decision is that he'll choose between the Raptors and the Clippers." Smith also said on Saturday that he thinks there is a "real possibility" Leonard and Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant will be Clippers next year. Video Play Button Videos you might like The Lakers have not been in the picture much. Of note, Michael C. Wright of ESPN spoke on Brian Windhorst's podcast in mid-March and speculated that he didn't think Leonard wanted to wear the Purple and Gold. "I do not," Wright said. "That's just what I've been told. It's what I've been told going back to last summer. I don't see that as something that's happening. I think he goes to the Clippers." Perhaps James can convince Leonard otherwise, but the Lakers have far bigger problems right now. Namely, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday that the team could not reach a deal with Tyronn Lue, their choice to fill the team's vacant head-coaching position. We'll see whether the two sides can eventually reach an agreement, but Leonard's future destination seems among the least of the franchise's problems right now.