As talks between the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers go from on and off, the purple-and-gold won't include their prized second-year forward Kyle Kuzma in any deals for star forward Kawhi Leonard, according to ESPN's Steven A. Smith.

“They’ve [Lakers] been willing to offer what they consider to be a fair package, but they’ve made it very clear to San Antonio that Kyle Kuzma is off limits,” said Smith. “They’re not letting go of Kuzma.”

This is consistent with a prior report which showed the Spurs are very disappointed with the offers they've gotten for Leonard, calling them “flat-out unacceptable” for the 2014 Finals MVP.

Leonard's value has taken a certain dip since he only played nine games last season due to an injured quad, but prior to that, Leonard was a top-five player with battle-tested ability to deliver in the big stage.

Kuzma was a pleasant surprise for this Lakers front office, quickly taking over the starting power forward job after Larry Nance Jr. went down to injury early in the season.

The 6-foot-9 forward put up a strong 16.1 points and 6.3 rebounds during his rookie season, gaining consideration for the Rookie of the Year award along with Utah Jazz shooting guard Donovan Mitchell and eventual winner Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers.