The NBA offseason is officially in full swing, with word breaking today that Kawhi Leonard is looking to be traded out of San Antonio. Interestingly, Leonard’s camp seemingly leaked the news to several outlets at once, but hadn’t yet directly informed the Spurs of the star forward’s desire to be traded.
Despite today’s reports, the Spurs won’t rush into anything, and will consider all their options thoroughly before they start fielding inquires on Leonard. However, it’s hard to imagine the former Defensive Player of the Year wearing a Spurs uniform when the 2018/19 season gets underway.
Here are a few of the latest rumors and notes on the Leonard situation:
- Expect the Sixers, Celtics, Lakers, and Clippers to be the primary contenders for Leonard, tweets Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. O’Connor notes that teams with high 2018 draft picks could enter the mix, but it would be a significant risk for those clubs with Leonard just one year away from reaching unrestricted free agency.
- Sacramento is one team with a top pick that could make a play for Leonard, with multiple reports indicating that the Kings – who have the No. 2 selection – will express interest. However, James Ham of NBC Sports California would be surprised if the Kings are really willing to make that sort of gamble.
- Sean Deveney of The Sporting News makes a case for why it’s the right time for the Lakers to be aggressive in their pursuit of Leonard.
- ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter) suggests the Spurs – like the Pacers a year ago with Paul George – will probably have little interest in making a trade with the Lakers. In Wojnarowski’s view, the Celtics could offer the best building blocks for San Antonio.
- Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link) is reluctant to draw a direct line between Leonard’s situation and George’s in 2017, noting that the Thunder went all-in without any long-term assurances from PG13 because they wanted to convince Russell Westbrook to sign a long-term extension. As Goodwill observes, the Celtics and Sixers won’t be as desperate.
Why wouldn’t Sacramento make that gamble? It’s not they ever do much with their top picks anyway. If they don’t trade it away, they will probably turn their pick into the next Thomas Robinson anyway.
All those horrible picks where from past regimes. Vlade has held his own drafting players. Only pick you can knock him on is Papagiannas, but there was only one player taken after him worth anything and he got Bogdanovic out of trading down.
The only one? Let’s take a look.
2015 – Willie Cauley-Stein – not bad, but not exactly the value you want at #6 either.
2016 – Papagiannis – gone
2017 – De’Aaron Fox – too early to tell, but he was outplayed by at least 3 other rookie PGs
2017 – Justin Jackson – I could be wrong, but he doesn’t seem like he is going to be much
2017 – Harry Giles – missed the entire season
It really is too early to tell on most of these guys, but none of them are exactly blowing the doors off the league either. When your best pick out of 5 is a guy (WCS) that you are probably not going to keep past his rookie deal, I don’t think you can call that “holding his own.”
2015 – Willie Cauley Stein is ranked 6th in VORP from the 2015 draft class. He was selected with the 6th pick.
2016- Hard to criticize picking somebody who flopped when the whole class was a flop. They also traded for Bogdanovic, who if you include in the 2016 class for the Kings’ purposes looks like one of the better players from that class
2017 – Hard to grade this class. Jackson has a chance at being a decent roll player, but wouldn’t consider that a bust at 15. Fox looked special the last few months of the season. Mason is solid. Obviously nothing to go on with Giles, but everybody who’s seen him play says he’s special, so hopefully optimistic.
If that’s not holding your own, I don’t know what is.
Lakers should offer Ingram, Hart, the first round pick they got from the Cavs, Hart and our second round pick. Not sure if it would get them Leonard but to be honest if they wanted more I wouldn’t make the trade. I wouldn’t add Kuzma to any trade no matter what. If they wanted Ball instead of Ingram I’d make that trade as well.
Didn’t meant to put Hart twice lol
Thought you meant Kevin hart, was gonna say that was Isaiah Thomas though
It would guarantee the lakers would be able to sign him to a max contract though. Since that’s his preferred spot anyways.
Yea I hope they can make it happen, trade for him and sign him to an extension. Not sure PG is going to leave OKC but if you can trade for Leonard and sign Lebron you’re already way better. Sounds to me like everyone think a Lebron is coming to the Lakers but the Lakers are trying to get more players for him like Leonard or PG or even Cousins. I guess we wait and see. All I know is if I’m the Lakers I’m holding onto Kuzma because that guy has that “it factor” in my opinion. He’s gonna turn into a great player I think.
You should want to keep Hart! Kuzma is also going to have limited value in the future I think…his value may be at an all time high – he will get better but his lack of defense will limit how valuable he is…also costs much more than Hart
Honestly I don’t mind his defensive liabilities..I can see the guy has the drive and passion to be great and I really think he will be. I don’t see that from anyone else on the Lakers. Randle maybe, I’m a big fan of Randle but Kuzma has that “it factor” and I think he will become a really really good player in this league. He can learn to lay defense and the way this league is going you don’t have to be all that good defensively anyways..lol at Harden for example. You get Lebron and Leonard and you’re already a way better defensive team anyways. Ball is pretty good defensively as well. You trade Ingram, Deng (to get rid of the contract, Hart, First and second round pick for Leonard, get Lebron and possibly even PG and that’s a pretty damn good team that can play defense and score. Kuzma can come off the bench and be a 6th man of the year type player like Williams is every year for whatever team he’s on
I think if Philly offered #10/Covington it would be a hard offer for SA to turn down.
I think it would be VERY easy to turn that offer down.
I’d reject in a heartbeat
I would turn that down and 2 seconds later block that GMs phone number and erase it from my speed dial.
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That’s not funny
His sponsor thought it was.
As a native Bostonian I’d love Kawhi but I don’t want to fork over Brown or Tatum, Memphis’ 2019 pick and whatever else it may take
Boston needs to stay the course. Ainge has put together something very special, even if Irving walks after next year.
I’d try to trade the Memphis pick, Smart, Rozier, Yabusele, other picks, whatever it takes. I would also consider Jaylen maybe, but if they could get it done with the aforementioned package I’d do it. Smart would have to be a sign and trade, that’s how they’d get close on salaries.
Yeah, Spurs wouldn’t even consider a deal that doesn’t have Tatum or Brown in it, along with the Kings pick I’m sure. Taking Boston’s backups for a top 3-5 player in the league isn’t realistic.
Why would you want to keep Tatum AND Brown. If you get Kawhi and Hayward comes back from injury, at least one of them will have nowhere to play. Their value would go down.
The lakers got no one to offer. He’s going to Boston. Tatum brown and a 1st rd pick. Will get it done.
I don’t see Boston giving up Tatum to get Kawhi
Kawhi is a young superstar. Tatum is good but superstar no.
Tatum looks like he will be a star as well and provides cheap cost certainty for the next 3 years at about 3/$25 mil.
The best thing for the Celtics to do is talk to Hayward and ask for his blessing (more out of respect, not sure if he has a NT clause to block a trade) and offer him to SA plus a pick. The Celtic picks really don’t have a lot of value since the Memphis is top 8 protected and the Clippers top 14 protected. Memphis will be horrible so they will probably be an early lottery team while the Clippers will probably be mediocre enough that they could be in that 10-16 range which makes it iffy to be used this year or next.
Celtics have Hayward and Tatum at the SF position, I would rather go with Tatum since he’s cheaper and stands a good chance of giving you 20+ points pg in the near future.
Tatum alone wouldn’t do it, but he is a sweet talent and will be good. Leonard’s diff vs everyone in the league is that his defense is better than his offense. He’s a complete package that can shut down another teams best player while dropping in 25ppg.
don’t be surprised if SAS ends up sending kawhi to Brooklyn, hear me out before you laugh…
SAS send Kawhi straight up
BKN sends Carrol, Dinwiddie, Hollis-jefferson and Brooklyn’s own 19′ pick
SAS gets a stop-gap SF for the next 2 years while grooming a young stud in Hollis-jefferson with hopes he can replace what kawhi brought in the future all the while getting a solid starting point guard in dinwiddie and a solid lottery pick in next year’s draft(oh and ps Brooklyn’s GM used to be co GM with the spurs and actually helped draft kawhi) plus the idea the spurs HAVE to trade him to the Lakers is beyond dumb, hes going to a eastern conference team, my only hopes is Shawn marks gets the deal done
Here’s why that trade doesn’t work:
1. Brooklyn can’t trade its own 2019 1st
2. All of those players you mention blow
Brooklyn can trade its 2019 first-rounder since it owns a 2018 first-rounder (doesn’t have to be its own).
outside of Carrol, who had a career year last year, all those players who “blow” have already shown more potential then the players the Lakers are dangling, loul deng?
and the nets finally have all they’re picks next year so yeah they can trade the 19′ pick
I was literally trying to put together something like this just now lol, but the rest of the Nets roster would need some help, mostly at the 4. Obviously they’d do it, but it is something to think about, considering the 1 year left, even though it is technically in NY, which could play into it. That being said, I feel like there are other similar offers that can be made out there
Sorry, I laughed. Before, and even harder after.
Why would Brooklyn do that since Kawhi will probably leave for FA next year to go to a contender? Plus if he’s unhappy in BK the team will always wonder if he’ll sit out because of an “injury”.
For folks wanting to suggest Kawhi trades, the minimum salary required to send to SAS is $16.1MM– the same for Kyrie Irving.
Except for a team well under the cap! (8 teams)
As far as I see it, it’s going to be one of these teams…since I feel like Philly has the most iterations of possible trades, I consider them the favorites, but obviously, there are a lot of variables
Philly: Fultz, TLC, Korkmaz, Bayless, and a first round pick for Kawhi, or Covington, Fultz and a 1st rounder for Kawhi and Derrick White
Lakers: Ingram, Hart, Deng, 25th pick for Kawhi and Patty Mills
Clippers: Tobias Harris, Sindarius Thornwell, Dekker, and the 12th pick for Kawhi
Heat: Waiters, James Johnson, Rodney Mcgruder, and 2019 1st round pick for Kawhi and Patty Mills
Nets: RHJ, Dinwiddie, Carroll, and their 26th pick for Kawhi
I’ll throw out a random team that could take a chance…Denver could do Gary Harris, Lyles, Wilson Chandler, Torey Craig, the 14th pick, and #43 pick for Kawhi
And since we’re here, let’s throw out 2 more…Otto Porter, Kelly Oubre, Tomas Satoransky and the 14th pick for Kawhi and Patty Mills
And lastly the Bulls Denzel Valentine, Paul Zipser, Robon Lopez, and the 7th pick
*that’s 29th in the nets offer. Throw in 40 as well…not that it matters lol
I can’t see LAL not jumping all over this. Plus potentially signing LBJ. They can make the trade and that would be bait enough.
Ingram would make sense. Randle in a sign and trade or Kuzma. Probably draft picks as well.
For SAS, best trading partner is Boston. They have the player(s) (Tatum or Brown, Rozier) and pick (Kings) to get it done.
…and longshot player (but a city that could convince him to stay) – the Knicks. Package KP, the #9 and whoever (contract like Hardaway or Noah to balance out cash).
In order for the lakers to have chance in trading for Kawhi, a couple of things have to happen. First the Lakers need to sign PG to show the danger of a one year rental. Next Kawhi needs to proclaim he will play for the Lakers one way or the other like PG.
Because the spurs will have no interest in making the Lakers better
Kawhi, PG13 and LBJ in LALaland
mind-blowing stuff!
Yeah, it’ll be just like Karl Malone and Gary Payton in LA. Lotsa fun, ZERO titles.
How can anyone say Kawhi is better than Tatum, well just now if he wants to play maybe so, but to me the only way to compare 2 players at such different stages in their careers is looking at Kawhi at the same age/rookie season the you compare that with Tatum, so it looks to me like Tatum will be better, so you cannot trade Tatum for someone like Kawhi, it would be a gift to San Antonio.
Anyway I have been saying for a while I don’t see Kawhi fitting in Boston, Philly or Lakers, but I think he is the perfect fit for Clippers if they want him or take the risk on him.
Science doesn’t work that way. They both play in the year 2018. Time travel doesn’t apply in the NBA.