No one seems to have any idea of what will happen this summer in the brewing drama between Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs.
Leonard missed nearly the entire season, then wasn’t with the team during their playoff series against the Warriors. That’s led to a planned “all hands” meeting as the team works to fix what’s being called a “broken” relationship.
With only one year remaining on his contract before a player option in 2019, the issues within the team have led to reports that Leonard would prefer a trade to either New York, L.A. or Philadelphia. All of this is what makes former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin’s comments on The Bill Simmons podcast so interesting.
Simmons brought up Leonard’s situation and asked how the former Cavaliers general manager would handle it. Here’s how Griffin responded:
“My intention wasn’t necessarily to say L.A. made the most sense (as a landing spot for LeBron James), just that it’s as likely as anything else. San Antonio could be as likely as anything else. Why couldn’t San Antonio find a way to clear the space to bring LeBron in to make Kawhi happy? LeBron thinks Pop is an absolute icon. That’s an outcome that could happen as well. And if someone could pull that off, it’s Pop. For me, when I look at it, and you’re making the decision to do this, you have to start, ‘This is the Spurs.’ If this was any other organization, I would believe all the fire starter nonsense about he has to leave. I don’t think you have to do anything. Pop has the level of control and power to say, ‘No, I’m not trading Kawhi Leonard.’ If you’re going to not do that, then you’ve going to need to put him in a position to dictate outcomes, so maybe you have to change the pieces around him. I think that’s more likely than they just cave and move the guy.”
Including cap holds, the Spurs have $134 million already tied up for 2018-19, including $22 million to LaMarcus Aldridge and $16 million to Pau Gasol. In order to acquire James this offseason, the Spurs would need to either shed some money or work a trade with the Cavaliers.
The Spurs won one playoff game (against the Golden State Warriors) in their quick playoff appearance. A duo of James and Leonard could make for an even more packed Western Conference with the Warriors expected to return all of their core four and Houston looking like it will stay dangerous. James is no guarantee to leave Cleveland, and of course, it’s possible he doesn’t even consider asking for a trade to the Spurs. But no matter what, this summer has the potential to get wild in a hurry.
