NBA Rumors: Trade Speculation Surrounding Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, More
Nothing will ever match the summer of 2010 in terms of NBA star power changing cities, as highlighted by LeBron James and Chris Bosh joining Dwyane Wade in Miami to form a new big three. However, the summer of 2018 could also see some massive trades and free-agent signings go down.
For example, Paul George is a key free agent this summer, and LeBron James could join him if he opts out of his contract. Trade speculation has also been rampant around San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard.
Here's a look at some trade talk surrounding Leonard in addition to speculation about Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook.
Kawhi Leonard
Ken Berger of Bleacher Report reported on the ongoing rift between the Spurs and Leonard, with a note on where the two-time All-NBA First Team member may end up.
"It's commonly heard on the front office grapevine that Leonard is eyeing the Lakers as a free agent in 2019. One of the Western Conference executives noted it's no accident that the Lakers reportedly have shifted their free-agent plans to focus on the '19 class (which Leonard may headline), according to Shelburne and ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski, as opposed to a quick fix this summer."
If Leonard forces a trade, a move to Los Angeles seems like a possibility, as he is from southern California originally. As Berger noted, however, the Lakers may not have an incentive to trade away parts of their young core for Leonard when they have tons of cap space to pick up big-name free agents.
According to HoopsHype, the Lakers have less than $35 million committed to players on the roster next season, and only Luol Deng's salary is officially on the books for 2019-2020. Nothing is on the ledger for the 2020-21 campaign.
Of course, the Lakers will likely pick up some team options for their young players in addition to offering them multi-year deals, but they still have a ton of space to add more talent, especially considering the salary cap is jumping over $100 million for the 2018-19 campaign, per RealGM.
Ultimately, if Leonard ends up a Laker, the most likely route would seem to be via free agency in 2019. However, L.A. could also add some players this year instead, and Leonard and the Spurs could also patch up their differences and work out a max deal.
Russell Westbrook
Zach Lowe of ESPN dropped an interesting item on the Lowe Post podcast:
"There's an increasing number of people around the league who think the Thunder should look at trading [Russell] Westbrook. To be clear, not a report. Not Thunder sources think they should do this. Just in spitballing ideas with teams around the league, there's a number of people who have heard, just like, 'It's time for something to change here.'"
The last two seasons in the post-Kevin Durant era have obviously not gone the way the Thunder wanted. OKC lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Houston Rockets in 2016-17 in just five games. After the team added Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to the roster, expectations were high this year, but the team finished with just one more regular-season win and lost to the Utah Jazz in the first round four games to two.
Westbrook, who has averaged 28.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and 10.3 assists over the past two seasons, is not the problem.
The primary knock against him is his shooting inefficiency at times: Westbrook has shot 43.6 percent from the field and 32.7 percent from three-point range over his past two years.
However, Westbrook's incredible energy and effort every single night helps make him one of the game's best players and more than makes up for those numbers. He is also forced to carry the team's offense on many occasions.
At first glance, it seems like the Thunder's best bet is to continue to build around the former UCLA star. He is also just 29 years old, so it's not like Westbrook's career is about to nosedive in the near future.
On the flip side, one has to wonder how the team can improve around him. They don't have a first-round pick in this year's draft and would have to give up their 2020 pick to the Orlando Magic if it falls outside the top 20, per RealGM. George could be as good as gone next season, and Anthony may be a better fit elsewhere after career lows in scoring (16.2 points) and shooting (40.2 percent) this past year.
The free-agency route would be the best way to go, with much of the Thunder's books clearing up in 2019. But having cap space is no guarantee in wooing big names, as teams such as the New York Knicks have learned over the years.
Ultimately, it's hard seeing the Thunder giving up on the Westbrook era, and the Thunder should do everything in their power around him for the rest of his contract extension (which runs through 2022-23) rather than trying to blow everything up and start over.
