Shhh Nobody Tell Raptors Fans That Kawhi Leonard Just Bought A New $13.3 Million Dollar Southern California Mansion

(LA Times) – Where Kawhi Leonard lands next basketball season is anyone’s guess, but it appears the Toronto Raptors star and impending free agent will be spending his offseasons in Rancho Santa Fe.

Leonard has paid $13.3 million for a home in the affluent San Diego County community. The purchase was made using a corporate entity that lists the two-time Defensive Player of the Year as manager, public records show.

Set on a lot of more than five acres, the Tuscan-style estate has been extensively renovated and updated for modern living.

Amenities include a workout facility with a dry bar, a home theater, a gourmet kitchen and two offices. A steel-framed wall of glass looks into a temperature-controlled wine vault in the tasting and bar room.

Well would you look at that. Despite being on arguably the best team in the Eastern Conference and having an MVP caliber season, Kawhi just can’t stay away from the sunshine. I know what you’re thinking, “big deal he’s from LA and went to college in San Diego”. Uhhh yeah no shit which means him buying a house there when every rumor under the sun has him linked to one of the LA teams is sort of a red flag. Sounds like he got a taste of that Toronto winter and immediately realized there’s no chance he can spend the rest of his career in that type of climate. Grew up in CA, played his whole career in Texas, it’s not all that surprising.

Now maybe it really is just for the offseason. I feel like I have to say that so Raptors fans have a sliver of hope to grab on to. You can tell yourself that and hope that it makes it true. People spend $13M on a house they use 3 months out of the year all the time. Even less for Kawhi if you think the Raptors make a deep run. For a guy who doesn’t seem like the kind of person to make splashy purchases just to make them and flaunt his wealth, good luck with that. You have to admit though, it’s a lot easier for everybody if Kawhi spends his offseason in the same location as his current employer. This news also comes at an interesting time. See for yourself

Kawhi hasn’t played since January 16th against the Celtics. He’s missed their last three games for “rest” but are we sure he wasn’t just with his lawyers dotting the “i’s” and crossing the “t’s” on that mortgage? Having done that myself I know what a real bitch that can be. You sign your name so many goddamn times your forearms feel as though they are being lowered into a blazing fire. Maybe that’s why Kawhi needed to rest, who could blame him? Current evidence suggests you can’t rule it out.

It’s just too bad that TOR literally shot their shot and drastically shook up their franchise in order to take a risk on a player like Kawhi. On the surface it looked like maybe things would be different this time around for the Raptors with a legit superstar on board, but at the same time Kawhi has remained noncommittal. Weird right? Well now we know why he couldn’t commit to TOR, because he was in the process of dropping bank on a new pad in Southern California. He got that New Balance money and it was time to start the process. Sadly, this is going to leave the Raptors with a 32 year old Kyle Lowry and a 63 year old Serge Ibaka for the foreseeable future. Tough seeing their entire hopes and dreams come crashing down and we aren’t even at the All Star break yet. Usually the Raptors don’t collapse until the Spring so they are wildly ahead of schedule. Damn, you really hate to see it.

So please, nobody tell any Raptors fan this happened. They deserve to live in a fantasy world where a player of Kawhi’s stature would actually want to stay in Canada and not get back to his hometown to play for a team he’s been open about is on his list of preferred destinations. Paul George did it remember? I’m sure Kawhi will too!

If you want to see the house and it’s pretty ridiculous, check it out here.