In the last several weeks, there has been constant trade chatter surrounding San Antonio Spurs All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard that has primarily involved the Los Angeles Lakers being one of the teams interested in acquiring him.
However, things have hit a bit of a standstill thanks to the Spurs demanding a high asking price. According to Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Los Angeles is willing to wait it out due to the utmost confidence that he will sign with them next summer.
There is a strong desire from the Lakers to land Leonard, but the fact that he has already made it clear that he wants to be traded to Los Angeles, where he prefers them or the Clippers, has taken the front office's foot off the gas to work out a deal. The 27-year-old has several other teams interested in landing him, such as the Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, and Boston Celtics, but each of these teams are hesitant given that it could come become a one-year rental situation.
The Lakers possess the young talent to package together an offer to get a deal done, including Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, and Lonzo Ball. However, the team doesn't want to move on from any of their promising players if there is a strong chance Leonard could join the team next summer to play alongside LeBron James.
It is still clearly a fluid situation in San Antonio, and as the season draws closer there could be some clarity as to what the team will do to resolve their standing with Leonard. However it all unfolds, the Lakers figure to factor into the equation in some sort of manner.
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