Every great NBA player has a team or player who has gotten in the way of greatness originally. For Michael Jordan, he dealt with the Detroit Pistons who beat him in the playoffs for three straight seasons losing in the Eastern Conference Finals. Kobe Bryant had the San Antonio Spurs get in his way a few times throughout his career. LeBron James dealt with a combination of a talented Orlando bunch and Boston before heading to Miami to chase greatness. Rumors are that Kawhi Leonard will be back with Toronto for a couple of years. The new rumor that circulated is that he will do a 1-and-1 deal with Toronto giving him the ability to opt out in the second year. This means we could see two more years of Giannis vs. Kawhi.

People are waiting for the next great NBA player and team rivalry. For years, it was LeBron vs. Steph and the Warriors then he moved to the same division and did not make the playoffs. People thought there could be something with Philadelphia vs. Milwaukee considering the multiple young superstars between those teams. And to be fair, it still could be the next big rivalry. But it appears that Kawhi vs. Giannis will be a real thing moving forward if Leonard stays in the Eastern Conference. Sure, there could be some Kawhi vs. KD thing if Durant goes to New York, but it’s unknown how good that team will be even with Durant.

Part of me thinks if you ask Giannis about this, he would tell you privately that this is 1000 percent what he wants moving forward. Kawhi with Toronto to give Milwaukee another chance at trying to beat this Raptors team. Antetokounmpo might get the chance without Leonard, but that team isn’t the same. They would likely rebuild with a variety of young guys versus trying to find a star to pair with Kyle Lowry. Regardless of what happens in Toronto, the Eastern Conference is slowly becoming a juggernaut.

If KD comes to New York, Kawhi is in Toronto and Kyrie stays in the East to play in Brooklyn, those are five teams that have a top 10 superstar on their team. Then if you add in the emerging Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics who have talent but not a top 10 superstar, Detroit with Blake Griffin, all of the sudden, the Eastern Conference looked beasty. I know that Giannis will be up for it and ready to take on whomever.

Charlie.