Over the weekend, after a redacted text conversation released by Puma insinuating that their next signing could be a star out of Toronto, the internet have drawn speculations that Kawhi Leornard could be joining Puma's roster that already features stars from this past summer's NBA Draft, NBA and WNBA veterans, and potentially 4x All-Star DeMarcus Cousins.
The idea of Kawhi taking his talents to Puma is not far-fetched considering the fact that he will be looking for a new home soon. Currently a signature athlete on the Jordan Brand, Kawhi turned down a four-year, $22 million deal and decided to part ways after his current contract expires and will become a free agent in October 2018. Kawhi and Jordan could not seem to come to terms on a extension as they did not have any future plans to give the 2014 NBA Finals MVP a signature shoe line.
While it is not far-fetched, based off of the text messages alone, I do not believe Kawhi is the athlete being referred to in the text messages. In the redacted text that reads, “______ is stopping by the office tomorrow. Keep you posted.” There is a loop in one of the letters in the redcacted name. So, that either has to be the name of someone representing Kawhi or an entirely different athlete with ties to Toronto, because Kawhi Leonard does not have any loops in his name.
It will be interesting to see how this play out as they reveal who the athlete is in the future. Nonethless, as the season approaches Kawhi will be a sneaker free agent this season.
