Kawhi Leonard fire
Kawhi Leonard may only have signed a one-year deal with the Toronto Raptors this offseason but team president Masai Ujiri says his new star has the “fire inside him” to help the team turn into NBA Championship contenders.
Leonard left San Antonio Spurs after only playing nine matches last season but he hopes to have an injury-free campaign this time around.
Ujiri took a gamble in spending big money to take him to the Scotiabank Arena and he is confident the risk will pay off.
"He is determined and seems in the right frame of mind," Ujiri said.
"You will be hearing from him shortly. I think there is a fire inside of him, and we are all excited about that.
“He’s a basketball person. Just loves the game. He wants to play the game and very competitive.
“You can tell he is a very competitive kid. It's about basketball.
"Once you just start to talk about basketball his eyes change."
Lonzo Ball hurt
Los Angeles Lakers star Lonzo Ball says he was “hurt” by his team’s decision to let Julius Randle leave.
Randle walked away in free agency to sign a two-year deal with New Orleans Pelicans.
And Ball discussed the transfer with his younger brother in the latest episode of ‘Ball in the Family’, where he said: “Damn. That one hurt a little bit.”
Randle wanted to sign a new deal with the Lakers but his gametime would have been limited next year due to the addition of several big-hitters, which includes the likes of LeBron James.