NBA Rumors: Latest on Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Love Trades, Marcus Smart
Although the NBA's regular season won't start for nearly four months, there is plenty of news around the league between free-agency chatter, trade talk and summer-league contests.
The big news dropped early in the free-agency process as LeBron James agreed to a four-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, but some other big names could be heading elsewhere before the season begins.
Here's a look at the latest trade rumors surrounding three players who may be on the move.
Kawhi Leonard
Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard wants to be a Los Angeles Laker. However, a few other teams are in the mix to trade for the two-time First-Team All-NBA member, who has one year left on his contract.
Per Zach Lowe of ESPN, the Philadelphia 76ers are in the running, but they are not offering 2017 first overall pick Markelle Fultz: "The Philadelphia 76ers have not included Markelle Fultz in trade talks, sources say. If the 76ers miss out on Leonard now, they could enter next offseason with about $40 million in cap space—a nice consolation prize."
The Boston Celtics could be an intriguing trading partner for the Spurs, in part because of their litany of future draft picks (detailed here by RealGM). Lowe had more on the C's, specifically on the team's reticence to trade 2017-18 breakout star Jaylen Brown:
"The Boston Celtics haven't included Jaylen Brown, sources say. As I wrote here, it might make more sense to offer Kyrie Irving or Gordon Hayward before Brown, but I don't see either happening. Boston is confident it can re-sign Irving despite chatter—credible chatter—that Irving and Jimmy Butler would like to play together, per league sources. They've earned such confidence."
On paper, Leonard would probably be a better fit with the 76ers, as he could seamlessly slide into the small forward spot and help form a near-unstoppable defensive starting lineup alongside Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid thanks to their collective length and athleticism.
But Leonard could work out in Boston as well: The team's defense is already among the best in the league, and the two-time Defensive Player of the Year would fit right in. The C's ranked first in defensive efficiency last year, and it's possible that ranking would stay right at No. 1 for the foreseeable future.
The problem is that Leonard is a free agent after this upcoming season, and any team not named the Lakers is presumably taking a risk hoping that the Spur superstar stays long term. It's possible a team like Philly or Boston trades players and picks for what amounts to a one-year rental, which is why it's difficult seeing a trade occurring.
As Lowe noted before, the 76ers have a ton of cap space in 2019 to fall back on if they don't take Leonard. And in addition to that space, Philadelphia could retain all the hypothetical players and picks it would have dealt in a Leonard trade.
Boston has a ton of 25-and-under talent in addition to those aforementioned future picks. It might be a wise move to just retain as many players as possible and bring in new faces with those selections as opposed to dealing for an established veteran.
Ultimately, it's hard seeing Leonard head to the Eastern Conference. The guess here is that he eventually heads to L.A. in a deal.
The Cleveland Cavaliers must find a way to move on after James left for L.A. A big dilemma revolves around All-Star big man Kevin Love.
Jason Lloyd of The Athletic (h/t Hoopshype) has the latest: "The first roster decision will be determining Kevin Love’s future. He has one year left of team control, and despite the Cavs’ insistence they aren’t interested in trading him, multiple sources around the league have told The Athletic the Cavs are indeed shopping him."
At this point, the Cavaliers have to look towards a rebuild and deal any players with solid value. Love, who will be 30 years old when the 2018-19 season begins, averaged 17.6 points and 9.3 rebounds last year. He's still a reliable scorer and rebounder who can play 30-plus minutes per night.
Obviously, he's a better fit on a contending team looking to take the next step rather than a rebuilding one seeking to stock draft picks and younger players, so it makes sense that the Cavs are looking to make a deal.
The Cavs do have a salary-cap issue: Per Hoopshype, they have over $106 million committed to players each of the next two seasons (although Love could hypothetically opt out of his deal in 2019, freeing up over $25 million). However, the books are nearly empty starting in 2020, leaving room for a new rebuilding project.
Ultimately, Cleveland isn't going to construct a winner overnight, and the growing pains should last into the next decade. But 2018 first-round pick Collin Sexton is an exciting young guard who the team can help build around, and the Cavs have all of their future first-round picks (minus a top-10 protected one in 2019 and 2020, as RealGM notes). It wouldn't be a surprise to see the Sexton-led Cavs rise from the ashes and return to the playoffs in three to five years.
Marcus Smart
Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been an integral part of the team's consecutive Eastern Conference final appearances, but it's not guaranteed he'll return next year. Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald has more information:
"Though the NBA marketplace has overflowed with activity since the opening of free agency on July 1, Marcus Smart and his negotiating team are still waiting for their first call from the Celtics.
"And according to someone close to the Smart camp, who requested anonymity to comment on the situation, the Celts guard is frustrated with the lack of outreach from his team."
Smart is never going to be an efficient scorer: Through four NBA seasons, he has shot just 36.0 percent from the field and 29.3 percent from three-point range. However, the energetic guard is one of the best backcourt defenders in the game (per ESPN, he ranked seventh among point guards in defensive real plus-minus).
Furthermore, the former Oklahoma State star is the type of player who can rally his team to a win with his tremendous hustle and defense. He's a fan favorite in Boston thanks to his blue-collar work ethic and game, and losing him might be a big blow to the team despite his offensive struggles.
That being said, the team does have tremendous depth at guard with Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier, so perhaps the C's will let Smart leave for a massive payday and look toward improving the roster through other means.
