Trading players isn’t in the San Antonio Spurs DNA. The team’s last exchange, acquiring Nando De Colo from the Toronto Raptors, happened in 2014.  However, San Antonio finds itself surrounded with rumors of another shakeup. Apparently suffering from a strained relationship, Kawhi Leonard’s tenure wearing the White and Black might find itself approaching an early conclusion.

Speculating on trades is always risky business. Beyond balancing salaries and asset values, circumstance requires consideration. For example, “…one of Popovich’s cardinal rules not to help Western Conference rivals.” This likely means the Los Angeles Lakers or any other Western Conference contender to be finds themselves eliminated from these proceedings.

With this established, here are several Eastern Conference hypothetical trade situations involving the still-young superstar.

6. Boston Celtics

Danny Ainge saved up for years to compile a treasure chest of assets. The end goal was waiting for a superstar to materialize on the trade block and outbid anyone else. That said, after playing around on the NBA Trade Machine for almost an hour, there doesn’t exist a logical situation that Boston would obviously take. At least not one without giving up some of those precious assets.

kawhi leonard, celtics
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Without sacrificing  and/or Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford, any trade package for Leonard requires giving up both Jaylen Brown, Jason Tatum and more. Unless the Lakers pick takes second in the draft lottery and results in the LA franchise selecting Mikal Bridges, these trades would devastate Boston’s depth. Additionally, any trade would likely involve starting Power Forward Marcus Morris.  The resulting line-up would consist of:

PG: Kyrie Irving

SG: Kawhi Leonard

SF: Gordon Hayward

PF: Guerschon Yabusele

C: Al Horford

With Marcus Smart and Aron Baynes impending departure, Boston would effectively run an incredibly short seven-man line-up. Additionally, Kawhi comes with injury risk. There are no guarantees that the Kawhi Leonard that Boston guts its roster for is the DPOY candidate. All the other teams on this list (sans one), have ulterior motives besides improvement to complete these trades.

kawhi leonard, cavs
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5. Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland Sends: George Hill, Cedi Osman, Ante Zizic, 10th Overall Pick in the NBA Draft, 2nd Rounder

San Antonio Sends: Kawhi Leonard, Patty Mills

Making big moves clearly falls into Cavs general manager Kobe Altman’s wheelhouse. Altman already made waves sending Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics only two weeks into his tenure. What stops him from going 2/2 this summer?

Cleveland arguably has a top tier asset in the 10th (potentially higher) pick in the NBA draft, but quietly the franchise has additional assets. George Hill has an incredibly bloated contract, but in 2019 it’s only $1 Million guaranteed. Representing 18 million in salary relief, Hill quickly becomes a tantalizing asset for capped out teams next summer. Something that, even if not used to acquire Leonard, Cleveland knows heading into the offseason.

Kawhi Leonard

Both of Cleveland’s European prospects, Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic, show proven upside. Zizic provides a body at Center during the regular season, where Osman’s ceiling rests around those of Tyreke Evans and Westley Matthews.  Finally, as long as Cleveland employs LeBron James, salary is no object and they’ll clearly pay whatever it takes to satiate his desires.

Name value alone justifies this trade. Kawhi Leonard brings another name Cleveland can market. He immediately positions himself as a clear second offensive option while taking the primary defensive assignment. If James stays, Cleveland now runs a starting five of:

PG: Patty Mills

SG: Kawhi Leonard/JR Smith

SF: LeBron James/Kawhi Leonard

PF: LeBron James/Kevin Love/Larry Nance Jr.

C: Kevin Love/Larry Nance Jr.

Whereas if Cleveland find themselves lacking one LeBron James this offseason, Leonard basically is as close as you can come to a replacement. If LeBron goes West and leaves an even weaker Eastern Conference behind, a two man unit of Leonard and Love should still continue making noise.

The inclusion of Mills into this deal shouldn’t be overlooked. From San Antonio’s side, Dejounte Murray’s development makes Mills into an expensive $50 million dollar backup. If Cleveland ends up taking either Colin Sexton or Trae Young, San Antonio finds themselves with a ready to play backup.

For Cleveland, on the other hand, Mills isn’t a backup. A low economy, tough defensive player provides best compliment to LeBron’s game from the Point Guard position. The $12.5 million a year investment at starting point guard makes clear financial sense for the Cavs.

Finally, while this isn’t the best deal San Antonio might be offered, it isn’t exactly the worst situation either. The development staff in San Antonio are second only to Hawks University, and three first round picks as well as a potentially flappable asset in George Hill (who has a longstanding relationship with Head Coach Gregg Popovich) and salary relief might just tantalize San Antonio to part with a disgruntled employee.

Kawhi Leonard, Hornets
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4. Charlotte Hornets

Charlotte Hornets Send: 11th Overall Pick, Nic Batum, Kemba Walker

San Antonio Sends: Kawhi Leonard, Patty Mills

Charlotte sending a low lottery pick and Kemba Walker seems like a steep cost to pay for Leonard, until you notice they unload Nic Batum’s albatross contract. Acquiring Leonard sheds salary and adds a big name at the same time.

This trade doesn’t fix every financial problem Charlotte struggles with. Michael Kidd Gilchrist, Marvin Williams, and Jeremy Lamb each still clutter Charlotte’s books, but this represents a positive step forward. With a new coach and a new system, Leonard would represent a fresh centerpiece for Charlotte to build around.

Batum is the ideal Popovich player. A high performing role player, his bloated contract drags down an otherwise impressively successful individual. That said, the focus of this trade isn’t Batum. Walker represents the best pint guard San Antonio employed since peak Tony Parker. Now you might say to yourself “wait, wasn’t peak Tony Parker like five years ago?” Yes, but that’s not important. With the Spurs resting approach, they can likely afford to offer Walker a contract extension which normally would put off other teams due to Walker’s age.

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3. Philly 76ers

To Philadelphia: Kawhi Leonard

To New York: Markelle Fultz

To San Antonio: Jarred Bayless, Lance Thomas, 9th and 10th overall picks in the 2018 NBA Draft

The first (and only) three-team deal addressed in this article comes courtesy of Dejounte Murray.

Philadelphia’s best trade assets are a point guard and a high pick. The 10th overall pick alone isn’t enough to justify trading Kawhi Leonard. Luckily New York seems to want an aggressive point guard to play on-guard/off-guard style backcourts, and Philly seems to have an extra one of those just sitting around.

Two high picks, a backup point guard in Jarred Bayless, and Lance Thomas (mainly for salary filler) might present a premier package for San Antonio. Let’s run down the investment rational for each team involved:

kawhi leonard

Philadelphia already proved this season that it’s a team on the rise.  The winner of only 28 games last year, Philadelphia’s second round playoff appearance represents nothing less than total validation that The Process worked. But why stop there? Why not swing for the fences and add a third star to this already dominant core?

Philly doesn’t want another top pick just to have it. In all honesty, their starting unit is nearly complete, with Ben Simmons running the point and Embiid holding down the center. The Sixers also have their 3-and-D wing, Robert Covington III extended for another four years and T. J McConnell finds himself playing stopgap at the point.

The only position on this team left unaccounted for is shooting guard. In 2018, most mock drafts see shooting guards outside Luka Doncic taken around 20, making the projected 10th overall pick of limited value to shooting guard needy teams.  Rather than add through the draft, package a deal together where Philly adds a superstar to slot at the 2.

ben simmons, joel embiid

For New York, this trade makes a decent amount of sense as well. At the cost of their first round draft pick this year and Lance Thomas’s deal, New York acquires the first overall pick in last year’s draft.

Does Fultz still clearly have some shooting issues? Sure. Does Fultz look like a player that can alone anchor your franchise for 20 years? Maybe not. Yet, Fultz does look like a better option than anything New York can acquire with a late lottery pick in this year’s draft and makes an excellent fit next to current combo guard Frank Ntilikina

For San Antonio, losing Kawhi Leonard to a potential championship contender isn’t ideal, but with Colin Sexton and Wendell Carter both likely still on the board at 9/10 and their own pick at 18, San Antonio can afford to lose their star in exchange for an immediate injection of high end rookies.

Kawhi Leonard, Bucks
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2. Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee Sends: Khris Middleton, Tyler Zeller, 2019 First Round Pick between 17-30 and then 8-30 in 2020, 2020 Second round pick

San Antonio Sends: Kawhi Leonard

After watching the first round of this year’s playoffs, can we as collective NBA fans finally admit that Khris Middleton is a star? He continues to play out of his mind year in and year out, anchoring himself as a solid second option on a solid team that lacks any coaching and yet perpetually no fan base outside Milwaukee is willing to recognize how excellent Middleton plays.

I remember when the Brogdan/Middleton for Kyrie trade was floated. That seriously looked like the best return Cleveland could have possibly got, yet both the local Cleveland media and National media scoffed. Well I’m glad Jordan Clarkson, George Hill, Rodney Hood and the 8th pick in the Draft are equal in value to a solid point guard and excellent second/third option at the premier position.

Kawhi Leonard, Enes Kanter
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If, as San Antonio, you have to give up Kawhi Leonard in a trade, there are a lot worse returns you could get. Middleton plays quiet, not making a major splash and is willing to share touches.  He’s a high end defender that can cover the 2/3/small-4 with above average offensive capabilities. Effectively you’d be trading for a step down from Kawhi Leonard and an early 20’s first round draft pick, which in the grand scheme of things doesn’t look so bad.

Milwaukee, on the other hand, solidifies itself with two top ten players who have several years left in their prime. Rumors that connect former Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer to the Milwaukee squad only make this potential trade more tantalizing.

Budenholzer’s system requires unselfish play, something both Giannis and Kawhi have shown themselves capable of doing in the past.  Effectively a top-three system coach (with Brad Stevens, Gregg Popovich, and Quinn Snyder contesting other positions in that hierarchy) would inherit the two best system superstars on the same team in their primes.  Move over Boston and Philly, Milwaukee wants to challenge for the top spot in the East.

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1. Indiana Pacers

Indiana Sends: 2019 First Round Pick, 2021 First Round Pick, Cory Joseph, Bojan Bogdanovic

San Antonio Sends: Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi’s camp reportedly wants to force a trade to a larger media market than San Antonio. What market’s bigger than Indiana?  They’ve got tons of things going for them!

Indianapolis has the largest children’s museum in the country with varied exhibits exploring arts and science. Or Kawhi could market himself in the historic Broad Ripple district with its flourishing culture and popular dining. How about learning a bit more about history at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art which is free for children under the age of four?  What a deal!  I could keep going about all the different cultural activities in the city of Indianapolis for a while, so I’m going to!

Kawhi Leonard
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Once a year, experience “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” the Indy 500. Relax on the over 250 acre White River State Park in downtown Indianapolis, however, you’re not allowed to fish in the small ponds throughout the park so don’t even think about doing that!

Who’s you’re favorite president? If Kawhi’s is Benjamin Harrison, he’ll love the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site, which provides tours of the 23rd United States’ President’s home.

I apologize to all residents of Indiana in advance.

Neither Bojan Bogdanovic nor Cory Joseph match up equally to Kawhi’s value, but at the cost of two future draft picks San Antonio might be intrigued. Neither of those picks would likely end up particularly high, but we’ve seen worse trade values in the past.  San Antonio would basically be betting upon the fact that Leonard might leave in free agency, making the 2021 pick significantly higher in value. A risky bet, but one that eventually might pay off.

Indiana doesn’t need any more convincing than just Leonard’s name. The DPOY candidate would add a perfect defensive stopper to pair next to Victor Oladipo’s offensive explosions. Pairing as a 1-A/1-B sort of tandem, Kawhi could focus his efforts on the defensive end, while Oladipo gains the advantageous switch.

Oladipo’s no defensive slouch himself, meaning Indiana wouldn’t need to hide their best players on either end like some teams (looking at you Houston or Kyrie-era Cavs). Effectively pairing the two with a strong big man rotation in Miles Turner and Domatas Sabonis and a stopgap point guard could create a squad that runs with the best in the East for years to come.