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It was supposed to be the ideal pairing of two of the best forwards in the NBA. There was no doubt that the two would terrorize the league for years to come. The San Antonio Spurs have previously been reported as one of the teams LeBron James is interested in going to, teaming up with Kawhi Leonard. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was rumored to be interested in having a conversation with the Cleveland Cavaliers forward in the hopes of convincing him to join the franchise.
But, that plan may not work with Leonard demanding a trade, reportedly expressing his desire to play for the Los Angeles Lakers. Leonard and James should have been one of the premier basketball duos ever, propelling the Spurs to the top of the league once again. Without Leonard, San Antonio may have less of a chance of landing James.
Maybe.
Are the Spurs helpless?
San Antonio isn’t giving up Leonard easily, especially not to a team like the Lakers. Unlike a year ago when the Cavs shipped off Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics after the All-Star point guard demanded a trade, the Spurs will not be held hostage by Leonard’s own trade demands. Just ask his teammate LaMarcus Aldridge, who had a similar demand before he was swayed to return after a heart-to-heart talk with Popovich.
Popovich visited Leonard before the NBA Draft in the hopes of convincing his star player to continue his career with the organization. According to Sam Amick of USA Today, general manager R.C. Buford and the front office are focused on keeping Leonard in a Spurs uniform.
“We will explore all of our options, but the first one would be to keep Kawhi as part of our group,” Buford said.
Apparently, that meeting didn't go according to plan. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith says that Leonard told Popovich directly that he wants out of San Antonio.
“From what my sources tell me, Kawhi Leonard met with Gregg Popovich face-to-face, looked him dead in his face and told him: ‘I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be in San Antonio any longer,'” said Smith in an episode of First Take. “By all accounts, everywhere that I’ve searched, he is absolutely, positively going to become a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
“You know what? Let me take that back, I should tell you L.A. He wants to be in L.A. The likelihood is that it is the Lakers, but Kawhi Leonard wants to be in L.A. and he is going to be in L.A. either this season, or after this season, come next summer. He is going to be in L.A., there is no way around that.”
Even if Leonard eventually finds his way to L.A. (with either the Lakers or Clippers), the Spurs will make sure that they get the best possible deal out of the 2014 Finals MVP.
However, the Spurs’ situation is a difficult one since Leonard will only be a rental for the team that lands him, assuming it's neither of the ones above. Their options will be limited by these two teams unless a particular franchise is willing to trade for Leonard hoping that he will change his mind and re-sign with them next summer.
It will be a similar situation to what the Oklahoma City Thunder did when they traded for Paul George last offseason without any assurances that he would re-sign. The hope was that George, alongside Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony, would make OKC championship contenders right off the bat and that would entice the former Indiana Pacers forward to re-sign with them. Instead, the Thunder got bounced in the first round by the Utah Jazz and are now facing an offseason in which George may head elsewhere.
Will a team gamble with Leonard like the Thunder did with George? If the price isn’t so high, some general manager will likely risk it.
But, the Spurs may have an ace up their sleeve.
LeBron and Kawhi in San Antonio can happen
The Spurs aren’t obligated to trade Leonard right away since he’s still under contract with the team for one more year. Assuming the front office takes a hard stance and decides to keep him, they could make a flurry of moves that would allow them to sign James.
Having James on the team could help change Leonard’s mind about staying with the Spurs. Rather than Leonard’s trade demand becoming detrimental to the team’s chances of landing the 15-year veteran, James could be the one to convince Leonard to give the Spurs one more chance and see if they can win a title together.
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With management playing hardball with Leonard, he has no choice but to play out his contract in San Antonio and make a decision after the 2018-19 season. Here is what the team will hope to accomplish: If the Spurs win the championship next season with Leonard, James, and Aldridge leading the way, it will be difficult for Kawhi to take his talents elsewhere. If he redeems himself and plays well in a banner season as a Spur, it is hard to imagine Leonard walking away.
LeBron in San Antonio without Kawhi?
Even if Leonard ultimately forces his way out of San Antonio, they can build a team around James and Aldridge that can compete for a championship. If they can acquire James, there’s no reason for the Spurs to fear that they are helping create a super team for the Lakers since the Cavaliers forward won’t be there anyway.
So, if the Lakers want Leonard, they will have to give up Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma, and Brandon Ingram at least. In order to make the salaries work, the Lakers would have to include Channing Frye, too.
If the Lakers push back and don’t want to give up their young ones while they still have Luol Deng’s horrendous contract, they could remove Frye from the mix and replace him with Deng while San Antonio sends Patty Mills to L.A. along with Leonard.
This gives the Spurs a starting lineup consisting of Tony Parker as the point guard, Ingram at the two, James at small forward, Kuzma at power forward, and Aldridge at center. Their bench will be bolstered by Hart and Dejounte Murray as playmakers, rookie Lonnie Walker IV and Manu Ginobili at shooting guard, Danny Green as a reserve small forward with Deng, and Pau Gasol at center. They will be thin at the four spot but they can sign a veteran power forward or two in free agency.
James can challenge for the championship with this team and the Spurs may not be done moving parts, as there could be possible takers for Green and Ingram if they want to get another All-Star to improve their chances of winning against the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets in the ultra-competitive Western Conference.
It could happen…
Given the depth that the Spurs can have with a trade of Leonard to the Lakers, James will likely consider the possibility that he can play for an all-time great coach for the first time in his career with Popovich and have a team that can win it all next season. With Pop steering the ship in San Antonio, James will have a coach that he respects deeply and a team that will not let him down in the playoffs like his teammates did last season, especially in the Finals.
Sure, Leonard may not be around, but with so many positives going for him by joining the Spurs, there is more than enough motivation for James to consider playing for the arguably the classiest organization in the league.
Popovich and the Spurs shouldn’t be too worried about their chances of landing the 14-time All-Star, even without Leonard. After all, they will have more than enough assets to compensate for Leonard’s loss if they decide to trade him to the Lakers, or to any other team for that matter.
If James wants to play for the Spurs, there’s very little reason for him to be discouraged by Leonard’s trade demands. In fact, he may well be the reason that his forward counterpart stays and partners with him to create their own super team. Additionally, the Akron native has more than enough leverage around the league to attract other free agents to join him in San Antonio in his quest for a fourth title. With or without Leonard, the Spurs should be confident in building a championship contender around the best basketball player in the league.
