Spurs Hope To Keep Kawhi Leonard, Trade Might Not Come Anytime Soon

The San Antonio Spurs are not ready to give up on Kawhi Leonard just yet. Despite the trade request from their star player, the team hopes to salvage the relationship and make it work with Leonard for the 2018-2019 NBA season.

After it was reported last week that Leonard wanted out of San Antonio, the two-time Defensive Player of the Year winner met with head coach Gregg Popovich Tuesday night. According to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, Leonard told Popovich that he doesn’t want to be a Spur.

“Kawhi and his family mean a lot to the organization and to the community and while none of us wish we are where we are, we’re going to do what we can to build the best relationship we can with him,” Spurs general manager R.C. Buford told reporters Thursday night during the NBA Draft. “We’ll explore all of our options, but the first one would be to do what we can to keep Kawhi as part of our group.”

Those options will, of course, include trading Leonard, for whom San Antonio is sure to get several offers. The Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers are expected to have interest in acquiring the 26-year-old, who reportedly wants to play in L.A. beyond next season when he’s eligible to become a free agent.

Teams like the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers have the ability to put together strong trade offers for Leonard, though they could be wary of giving up assets for a player that has the opportunity to leave in a year. The two Los Angeles teams might ultimately offer the most compelling packages because they believe they can re-sign the 2014 NBA Finals MVP.

San Antonio has no interest in sending their superstar to one of their rivals, at least not yet anyway. The Spurs rebuffed the Lakers’ attempt to discuss a trade for Leonard, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.

The Spurs decided to hold onto LaMarcus Aldridge last season when the big man requested a trade. The two sides ended up agreeing to a contract extension in October.

Aldridge is a six-time All-Star. Leonard is on a different level, likely one of the NBA’s top-five players when he’s healthy. The forward was a top-three MVP candidate in each of his last two full seasons, and he led San Antonio to the 2017 Western Conference Finals.

While free-agents-to-be like LeBron James and Paul George are expected to determine their teams for next year in the coming weeks, it could be some time before a resolution between Leonard and the Spurs is reached.