Western Notes: Leonard, Aldridge, Green

Kawhi Leonard could sign an offer sheet that allows him to become an unrestricted free agent in three years or a qualifying offer that takes him to unrestricted free agency in 2016, but the Spurs are confident he’ll remain in San Antonio for the long term, Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes. “I don’t know that I’m worried about [the cap],” GM R.C. Buford said. “It is what it is. We’ll deal with the guidelines. I hope that Kawhi is with us for a long time, and I know that’s no secret to Kawhi or his family.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

  • Lowe continues to hear talk among sources who say that the Spurs might get to have a meeting with LaMarcus Aldridge, as Lowe writes in the same piece. That echoes a report from January in which Lowe wrote that he’d spoken with a half-dozen executives from four different teams who raised the possibility that Aldridge would sign with San Antonio.
  • Plenty of executives would point to the notion that Danny Green would be much more successful within the Spurs‘ system than out of it, and they’d be hesitant to shell out $10MM a year for him, Lowe surmises. The Grantland scribe nonetheless stumps for Green’s value based on “elite” defense and his status as a legitimate “3-and-D” player. An executive who spoke with Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops said that he wouldn’t mind paying a $6MM annual salary for the swingman.
  • Matt Petersen of NBA.com looked back on Suns guard Eric Bledsoe‘s 2014/15 campaign, his first after inking a five-year, $70MM deal with the team. The 25-year-old appeared in all 81 games for Phoenix this past season, averaging 17.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 6.1 assists.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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