Even as Kawhi Leonard continues to star for the Los Angeles Clippers on the court, there is plenty of speculation surrounding his long-term future. The Aspiration scandal may eventually attract some sort of punishment for the franchise/player, and plenty have claimed the Clippers may choose to trade him.
And as things stand, NBA insider Jovan Buha has claimed that there is no team with more cap space to take on a player of Kawhi’s stature, than their closest rivals, the Lakers.
“Either scenario of Kawhi is forced to be traded or his contract is voided and he is a free agent, no one has more cap space this summer than the Lakers. So the lakers are in a prime position. Living in LA for the past six years, I don’t know if he would want to relocate..That could put the Lakers in a position to acquire him or sign him,” he said per HoopsHype, before claiming that he wanted to tread lightly on this thread.
“Now, the Lakers can bid high. They have three picks, and they have the cap space. So maybe that's enough to entice the Clippers, depending on what that potential trade package looks like. But for now, I think it's just noise, and until we have clarity on what the potential punishment is going to be, I think it's nothing more than that,” he said.
However, Buha still claimed that the Clippers may be unwilling to trade him to their rivals, and the situation may eventually result in a bidding war.
“I don't think the Clippers would love trading Kawhi to the Lakers. And at that point, if you're forced to trade him, I think the league's not gonna be like, ‘You have to trade him to the Lakers, you have to trade him to team X.' It's gonna be, ‘Alright, let's get into a bidding war here,’ he said.
There is undeniable bad blood between the ownership groups, highlighted by Lakers owner Jeanie Buss nicknaming Clippers owner Steve Ballmer “Ballz,” alongside the Lakers' lingering institutional embarrassment over the lopsided Ivica Zubac trade. Hence, while there may be a ‘geographical convenience’ for a Kawhi-Lakers trade, it currently seems to be a mere figment of imagination, rather than anything real.
