NBA Rumors: Latest Trade Buzz on Kawhi Leonard, Raptors, Lakers, More
In the summer of 2010, the biggest American sports story was not the U.S. men's soccer team's participation in the World Cup. Rather, it was where Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James would land in free agency. Eventually, James landed in Miami, where he won two NBA titles.
The Kawhi Leonard-San Antonio Spurs soap opera hasn't approached James territory as far as creating non-stop conversation, but like the chatter surrounding James, it seems as though it will never end. Eventually, Leonard will find a new home (or perhaps miraculously patch things up with San Antonio). Until then, all we can do is analyze the rumors and piece together where he may end up.
Here's a look at three recent rumors, starting with a potential return to the court sooner rather than later.
Team USA
Per Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN: "San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard is seriously considering participation in the USA Basketball national team's minicamp in Las Vegas next week, an event for the embattled All-NBA forward to showcase the status of his recovery to prospective trade partners, league sources told ESPN."
Leonard's first game last season was on December 12 as he missed the first part of the campaign due to a quad injury. However, he only played nine games and shut it down for good after playing 28 minutes in a win over the Denver Nuggets on January 13.
The former San Diego State star has battled injuries throughout his career, as he's never played more than 74 games in a single season. That being said, Leonard has been durable on the whole, and the 2017-18 season marked the first time he missed more than 25 regular-season games.
It would be surprising if this quad issue lingers into next season, as Leonard has had plenty of time to rehab it. News that he may be willing to participate in a USA Basketball minicamp as soon as the week of July 23 is an encouraging sign.
Latest Trade Talks and the Los Angeles Lakers
Shelburne and Wojnarowski also provided a general update on the status of the Leonard trade talks:
"Trade talks with several teams continue, with traction slowly, surely gathering with offers for a star insisting that he wants to play for the Los Angeles Lakers. If the Spurs are losing deal leverage, they aren't operating in a manner that suggests they're peddling a depreciating asset. San Antonio has been determined in demanding a sizable return on Leonard."
Both reporters mentioned nine teams that have been in conversation with the Spurs, including the Lakers. However, if Leonard is a Laker someday, it probably won't be before the season at this point. As noted by the ESPN duo, "the Lakers are playing the longer game in trade talks, confident in the belief that Leonard wants to play with them and plans to sign in free agency in July 2019."
And that stance makes perfect sense: If Leonard wants to go to L.A., why would the Lakers sell the farm for him now when they can retain all of their young players and draft assets? He can just sign a deal with the Lakers when his contract runs out in 2019.
Of course, there is the matter of what happens with Leonard until then, and it's clear that the two-time All-NBA First Team member has no desire to play for San Antonio anymore. Will a team make a trade offer San Antonio can't refuse in the hopes that Leonard agrees to a long-term deal? Or will the Spurs and Leonard have to find a way to co-exist in 2018-19?
Toronto Raptors
Per Marc Stein of The New York Times (h/t HoopsHype), the Toronto Raptors (one of the nine teams Wojnarowski and Shelburne mentioned) are in the mix for Leonard:
"I just spent a few days at the NBA's annual summer league in Las Vegas, where buzz about Toronto trying to work its way into the Kawhi Leonard trade sweepstakes was constant. But is it real? The offshore oddsmakers who establish betting lines on these things certainly think so, because the Raptors have suddenly emerged as the bookies' favorites to land Leonard via trade ... I did hear enough chatter in various Vegas conversations to believe that the Raptors have given legit consideration to gambling on a trade for Leonard."
Following up on Stein's odds comment, the Raptors are indeed the betting favorites to get Leonard at this point. Per Gilles Gallant of OddsShark, Toronto is even money to land the superstar, with the Spurs second on the odds ledger at 4-1. The Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers are 5-1 and 6-1, respectively.
There's been some smoke in regards to this connection in recent days, and one has to wonder if the significant odds change means anything. On paper, a potential deal makes sense. The Raptors can't seem to break out of the Eastern Conference and are looking to shift gears en route to giving it another shot next year. They have a new head coach (Nick Nurse), and perhaps want to make a big splash after coming so close for the past few years.
One would assume that DeMar DeRozan or Kyle Lowry would be the front-line player on a Spurs deal, alongside some young Raptors talent and first-round draft picks. Ultimately, it would be interesting to see Leonard in the (weaker) Eastern Conference either way, as he would arguably be the best player in that grouping with LeBron James headed to the Lakers.
Would Leonard dominate the playoffs, or would another strong preseason candidate (perhaps the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, for example) come out on top? Either way, it would be fun to watch Leonard compete in the East.
