There’s so much to like about Kawhi Leonard — as long as he doesn’t go to the Lakers

I really don’t want to root against Kawhi Leonard.

But it could be coming.

A guy I’ve admired since he came into the NBA for many reasons — most notably the fact he prides himself on defense and essentially keeps to himself without fueling head-scratching headlines — just might become part of an axis of evil that is super teams by joining the Los Angeles Lakers.

I don’t care where free agency takes him, as long as it’s not there.

Sure, the Lakers would still have plenty of question marks if they sign Leonard, as pinching pennies would become an understatement. But at a time when it finally seems the super team fad is subsiding the last thing we need is for him to join forces with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

It’s not needed.

Leonard doesn’t need it.

Kawhi won the NBA title this past year without another superstar. Kyle Lowry? Good, but not great. Pascal Siakam? Maybe one day. Marc Gasol? Perhaps at some point in the past.

The Lakers don’t need it.

Contrary to popular belief, I don’t think the Lakers would be better off with Leonard. They’d be better off signing multiple players with that money and actually having a bench that has a few guys we’ve heard of.

As of this column, there’s no telling where Kawhi plans to go. Will it be L.A. with either the Lakers or Clippers? Will he return to Toronto? No one knows.

One thing I can tell you for sure, though: If he goes to the Lakers, we’ll be sick of hearing about them by, well, the day after.

As of right now, the NBA is sitting in a really fun spot. You could probably argue that a dozen or so teams have a chance to win the NBA title in 2019-2020. Golden State is wounded and lost Kevin Durant to Brooklyn, the Rockets are in disarray, others in the West have gotten stronger, and the East is once again bunched up with quality teams.

But, while I don’t agree, the Lakers would likely become instant favorites if Leonard goes there. Still, I think the league would have plenty of teams that look like they’d have a chance to win it all next year.

So the point of not wanting to see Leonard in Los Angeles isn’t all about balance of power. Instead, it’s more about judging a competitor’s integrity.

As an Oklahoma City Thunder fan, I’m happy to see Kevin Durant gone from Golden State. My distastes for him has faded and will even more so now. Looking back, I wasn’t mad just that he left; I was angry that he went to a situation where the rich got richer after his — and the rest of the team’s — failure to knock off the Warriors.

It’s not quite as personal this time as Toronto’s not my team. It’s also a completely different situation considering Kawhi was a rental there and he did what they brought him there to do. It’s also reasonable to believe he simply wants to go home.

However, he can do that while going to the Clippers instead of the Lakers. Ideally, though, I’d like to see him return to Toronto — even if for one more year — in hopes of going for a repeat and rewarding a team and city that took him in with open arms.

He can return to Southern California at any time in life.

In the grand scheme of things, I can’t fault him for whatever he chooses. But I can stop rooting for him from afar.

Let’s hope the super team fad is ending and we’ll be seeing more Batman and Robins instead.