The San Antonio Spurs are determined to make things work with Kawhi Leonard. As general manager R.C. Buford said, the team’s top priority when it comes to the future of their star player is to fix their relationship and keep him in San Antonio for a long time, even though Leonard has requested a trade.
If that can’t happen, it stands to reason that the Spurs would cut their losses and decide to get something back for Leonard, who is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2018-19 season. All 29 teams would love to acquire a player of Leonard’s caliber, but if San Antonio has its way, he wouldn’t suit up for a conference foe.
According to Sam Amick of USA TODAY Sports, the Spurs really don’t want to trade Leonard to another team in the Western Conference.
Fellow West teams have been told, in essence, to get lost – none moreso than the Lakers, according to ESPN. As it stands, the Spurs are determined to either fix the situation or trade Leonard to an Eastern Conference team. For teams other than the Lakers, the threat of losing Leonard in free agency next summer makes the prospect of offering meaningful assets a complicated, calculated risk.
This is bad news for teams like the Lakers, while teams like the Celtics and the Sixers have to be excited knowing this is San Antonio’s preference. The issue, as Amick alludes to, is that if Leonard really does want to play in Los Angeles, teams might not be as eager to go all-out to acquire his services. Plus it stands to reason that the market wouldn’t be as robust if teams from an entire conference are told to not even bother.
The Spurs are a smart organization, so it stands to reason that they’ll get past their reservations if a Western Conference team blows them away. That is, of course, if they can’t work things out and keep Leonard in San Antonio.
