The Kawhi Leonard sweepstakes have been on even before the fissure between the San Antonio Spurs and their star became truly evident, as the Boston Celtics took the first swipe by pitching a trade offer for their lauded defensive ace.
“The Boston Celtics made a trade offer to San Antonio before the February deadline, but the Spurs turned it down — and never made a counterproposal,” league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. “San Antonio wasn’t willing to discuss deals for Leonard in February. So far this spring, the Spurs remain resistant to trades.”
The Spurs seem hellbent on resolving their issues in-house and refuse to consider any offers before they put the “T” word into consideration.
Leonard was expected to carry the torch after Tim Duncan retired, but his relationship with the franchise quickly eroded since his injury during the 2017 Western Conference Finals, faced with an injury that we're yet to determine a timeline of recovery for.
It's not surprising to see president Danny Ainge being aggressive with trade offers, hoping to strike while the iron is hot and give his team a chance to reel in a massive two-way talent.
The Celtics have faced injury issues of their own, including a freak injury to Gordon Hayward in the first game of the season and then having their main star Kyrie Irving out for the latter end of the season and the playoffs with a knee surgery.
Boston plans to stockpile their talent, and the two teams might revisit this trade situation later if conversations between Leonard and the franchise don't go as smoothly as planned.
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