Celtics Rumors: Trade Buzz for Kawhi Leonard
The Boston Celtics may be in the driver's seat when it comes to making a deal with the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard.
ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski wrote that the Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers are both on the Spurs' list to make a deal for the two-time All-NBA player.
The Spurs are clearly looking for a sizable return, and there may be a better chance of pulling off a deal with the Celtics than the Lakers.
Los Angeles is looking to make free-agent deals with LeBron James and Paul George, and both of those may come before making a trade for Leonard.
That could help out the Celtics, who have the top assets the Spurs are looking for.
While Boston is clearly interested, it wants to have a full understanding of Leonard's quadriceps injury situation before making a substantial offer.
A recent report from Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated indicated that the Spurs want to get Jayson Tatum as part of any deal that includes Leonard. The Celtics believe Tatum will become a superstar in his own right after a sensational rookie season, and general manager Danny Ainge would would have to swallow hard before he trades Tatum.
However, if Ainge gets an excellent report on Leonard's overall health, he may be willing consider dealing his young star. He would almost certainly have a counteroffer that does not include Tatum, and that would lead to further discussions.
Much of the discussion has been around Jaylen Brown, another young player who is already a key Boston contributor with a brilliant future.
However, that talk has largely been on talk shows and in media reports. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe tweeted that Brown's name has not come up in talks between the two teams.
That does not mean he won't be mentioned at some point, but the Celtics don't want to move either of those young stars if they don't have to.
Brown averaged 14.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, while Tatum averaged 13.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per night.
It would be unlikely for the Celtics to make a deal for Leonard that does not include Brown or Tatum.
