While teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics have failed to woo the San Antonio Spurs with a succulent package for Kawhi Leonard, the Toronto Raptors have arisen as an odds favorite to land the enigmatic star forward.
Oddsshark has the Raptors leading the race, coming in at even odds, as a potential package of shooting guard DeMar DeRozan, OG Anunoby, and Jakob Poeltl, along with a pick could do the trick (h/t Bleacher Report's Tyler Conway).
The Spurs come well below at +400, with the Lakers (+500) and Clippers (+600) separated only by 100 in the odds race.
The Raptors fit the organizational concept that the Spurs refuse to aid Western Conference teams by trading assets to them, but Toronto (as likely any other team) will be hesitant to trade its best player without a commitment to stay from Leonard, as the payout would be way too large to risk a potential one-year rental.
Leonard's camp put the league on notice that he'd like to play in his hometown of Los Angeles, which the odds reflect, but he's under full control of the organization and has little say of where he will go, as Paul George did last summer when he was a member of the Indiana Pacers.
Toronto would be forced to surrender two of their young assets in Anunoby and Poeltl while receiving Leonard and Danny Green (a salary filler), but the risk is just massive without a verbal guarantee that he will stay for the long run.
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