Kawhi Leonard Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kawhi Leonard Remains ‘High Priority’ For Clippers

July 1st, 2018 at 12:43am CST by marksuleymanov

While Kawhi Leonard‘s future remains unclear, the Clippers remain interested in the All-Star forward and have not abandoned the idea of pursuing him, ESPN’s Chris B. Haynes reports.

The Clippers have been loosely connected to Leonard since reports of his desire to be traded first emerged. However, the crosstown rival Lakers have been most heavily linked to the two-time Defensive Player of the Year.

The Lakers reportedly engaged the Spurs in talks for Leonard this week with young players such as Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram at the forefront of those discussions, though they haven’t been overly aggressive in those discussions in recent days, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (video link).

The Sixers and Celtics have been among the other teams in pursuit of Leonard. Despite an injury-riddled season in 2017/18 that limited him to just nine games, the Spurs forward remains one NBA’s elite two-way players.

Los Angeles has some cap flexibility available now that longtime center DeAndre Jordan has opted out of his deal has agreed to a deal with the Mavericks. It’s not clear what the Clippers would offer for Leonard, but they’d almost certainly need to include one or both of their 2018 picks (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jerome Robinson). Tobias Harris and Patrick Beverley are among the veterans on the roster with positive trade value.

Ultimately, with a future first-round pick committed to the Celtics, the Clippers will need to get creative to offer an enticing package for Leonard.

Spurs Ready To Move On From Kawhi Leonard?

June 28th, 2018 at 7:58pm CST by Luke Adams

7:58pm: The Lakers haven’t offered Ingram in any deals, Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times tweets. She subsequently clarified that this doesn’t preclude them from being willing to include him if push came to shove.

12:58pm: The Celtics are taking a “conservative” approach in talks with the Spurs and have yet to discuss Jaylen Brown, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.

12:12pm: The Lakers are willing to include Brandon Ingram and a future first-round pick in a package for Leonard, according to Wojnarowski, who hears from league sources that the Spurs want a “far more complete haul” of young players and picks.

Meanwhile, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link) continues to hear that a Celtics trade for Leonard remains unlikely, given all the question marks related to his health and contract situation. Boston hasn’t received any assurances from Kawhi that he’d want to be a Celtic, tweets Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald.

11:15am: According to Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter), “rumblings of a Godfather Lakers offer” for Leonard have other teams wondering if they have any realistic chance to land the two-time Defensive Player of the Year.

10:39am: As recently as last week, Spurs general manager R.C. Buford was telling reporters that the club still hoped to smooth things over with Kawhi Leonard and keep the star forward on the roster. However, San Antonio’s stance appears to be evolving.

According to Marc Stein of The New York Times (via Twitter), league sources are saying that the Spurs are “ready” to move on from Leonard. Stein cautions that the team’s apparent willingness to deal doesn’t mean that San Antonio will send Leonard to the Lakers or any other team within the next day or two. However, it appears to be a major shift if the Spurs’ thinking.

The Spurs are currently “fully engaged” in Leonard trade talks with a number of teams, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Wojnarowski identifies the Lakers and Celtics as two clubs very much involved in those discussions, adding that Boston has the assets that the Spurs covet most in a potential swap.

Even if the Celtics refuse to include Jayson Tatum in an offer for Leonard, they have multiple young players that could appeal to San Antonio, including Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier. Adding Marcus Smart via a sign-and-trade could also be a possibility, and the C’s are loaded with future first-round picks, including the Kings’ 2019 first-rounder (top-1 protected).

Still, when Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald addressed the Leonard situation on Wednesday evening, he suggested that the Celtics and Spurs hadn’t gotten anywhere in their discussions so far. Per Bulpett, the Celtics would want assurances that Leonard’s quad injury is healed and that he’d be willing to stay in Boston for more than one year. Without those assurances, it’s hard to imagine the C’s offering the kind of significant package the Spurs will be seeking.

Multiple reports from ESPN on Wednesday indicated that the Lakers are feeling some pressure to finalize a Leonard trade as soon as possible, since landing Kawhi could give the team the strong upper hand in the LeBron James sweepstakes. While the Spurs are under no obligation to adhere to the Lakers’ preferred timeline, rival suitors could feel compelled to increase their offers for the star forward if they sense that the Lakers are going all in.

The Sixers, Clippers, and Cavaliers are among the other teams known to have inquired on Leonard’s availability, though the Clips and Cavs may lack the young players necessary to put together a tempting offer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lowe’s Latest: James, Thunder, RFAs

June 28th, 2018 at 7:56pm CST by Austin Kent

The Lakers may not necessarily need a star in place to lure LeBron James, Zach Lowe of ESPN writes in a massive round-up of free agency notes. If James were to sign in Los Angeles alongside the team’s existing young stars and plethora of cap space they’d immediately become one of the league’s most appealing destinations for the next 12 months.

The comment comes in response to the notion that the Lakers are growing desperate to acquire Kawhi Leonard from the Spurs prior to James’ opt-in deadline tomorrow at 10:59pm CST. As things stand, both the Celtics and Sixers appear poised to offer better packages than what Lowe speculates L.A. might.

The King’s decision will have a ripple effect on the rest of the league, especially the Eastern Conference. If the Raptors, for example, were to watch James head to the West, it would make keeping their current core in place more appealing considering that their path to the Finals would be hypothetically easier.

Here’s a taste of the rest of Lowe’s findings:

If the Thunder can convince Paul George to return to Oklahoma City, it will be a monumental victory for general manager Sam Presti. If he leaves, the club would be forced to at least think about blowing the current squad up and trading Russell Westbrook.
Only six teams have notable amounts of potential cap space and half of those – the Hawks, Bulls and Kings – are telling teams that they’re interested in using that space to absorb bad contracts and pick up assets.
It’s unclear that there will be much of a market for Derrick Favors beyond, potentially the Mavs. It may make more sense for the big man to stay with the Jazz after finally starting to click alongside Rudy Gobert in Quin Snyder‘s offense last season.
The two best candidates to sign a qualifying offer this summer and approach next summer as unrestricted free agents are Celtics guard Marcus Smart and Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic. Lowe writes that Nurkic turned down a “rich” four-year extension last fall but might have a hard time finding a team willing to offer more than the mid-level exception this summer.
It stands to reason that Aaron Gordon, Zach LaVine and Jabari Parker will yield significant offers from the Magic, Bulls and Bucks respectively but none of those teams have reason to offer a max contract right away.
The Pacers could make life harder for the Magic by putting together an offer in the $20MM range for Gordon. Lowe writes that there has been “mild discontent for years” about Gordon’s role in Orlando’s offense.
The Nuggets tried “feverishly” to trade for a second first-round pick last Thursday in the hopes of nabbing Zhaire Smith. Denver’s 2019 first-rounder was on the table in those talks.

For more free agency notes, including some potential contract extension candidates and the reasoning behind Nikola Jokic not getting a player option in the fifth year of his new deal with the Nuggets, check out the full feature at ESPN.

Sixers Weighing Trade Packages For Kawhi Leonard

June 28th, 2018 at 3:13pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers and Celtics are in talks with the Spurs about Kawhi Leonard, but they’re not the only teams interested in making a play for the star forward. According to Jake Fischer of SI.com, the Sixers have held “serious internal discussions” about trading for Leonard within the last couple days, and the front office has taken several trade scenarios to team ownership for consideration.

Fischer reports that the Sixers have yet to present the Spurs with a formal offer for Leonard, but their internal discussions have revolved around various young players and future draft picks.

One team source tells Fischer that, based on preliminary discussions between the Sixers and Spurs, San Antonio appears to have “strong interest” in a package that includes Dario Saric, Robert Covington, and a future first-round pick — perhaps the Heat’s 2021 first-rounder, which the 76ers acquired last Thursday from the Suns.

Markelle Fultz isn’t mentioned in the SI.com report and Fischer confirms in a follow-up tweet that last year’s No. 1 pick isn’t part of any of the proposed packages that team management has brought to Sixers ownership.

According to Fischer, the 76ers showed little interest in parting with either Saric or Covington in pre-draft trade talks when they explored moving up from No. 10. That doesn’t mean that either player would be off-limits in an offer for Leonard, but Philadelphia appears to strongly value the on- and off-court contributions it gets from Saric and Covington.

Interestingly, the Spurs have informed teams that Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is their preferred target in Leonard talks, sources tell Fischer. Other clubs believe this is a negotiating tactic though, since Boston is unlikely to surrender Tatum. Per Fischer, it’s “widely believed in league circles” that the C’s would propose a deal centered around Kyrie Irving and draft picks. We heard earlier today that Boston had yet to discuss Jaylen Brown in talks with the Spurs.

While Los Angeles is Leonard’s preferred landing spot, a source close to the situation suggests to Fischer that the star forward is open to other major markets. That could bode well for teams based in Boston, Philadelphia, and New York, though the Nets and Knicks are unlikely to be players for Leonard.

The Sixers’ offseason will be fascinating to watch, particularly if the team takes a major swing on a player like Leonard. The franchise currently doesn’t have a permanent general manager in place, with head coach Brett Brown holding the position on an interim basis after Bryan Colangelo‘s dismissal. For what it’s worth, Fischer notes that Leonard and Brown are believed to have a good relationship, dating back to their time together in San Antonio.

Lakers, Spurs Discuss Kawhi Leonard Trade

June 27th, 2018 at 8:09pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers re-engaged the Spurs Wednesday in trade talks for Kawhi Leonard, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN tweets. It’s the first time the teams have discussed a Leonard deal since the Spurs “shut the door” on them after an initial call, Shelburne adds.

The Lakers reportedly feel pressure to make a deal before LeBron James makes his free agent decision, with the belief James would opt out of his contract and commit to the Lakers in free agency if he could join forces with Leonard. With Paul George no longer viewed as a lock to choose the Lakers, Leonard may represent the Lakers’ best bet to acquire another star.

If a deal goes down soon, the Lakers will have to put together an overwhelming offer. According to an ESPN story from Shelburne, Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst, a massive package of young players and draft picks would have to go back to San Antonio. The package could include some combination of Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart, perhaps along with restricted free agent Julius Randle in a sign-and-trade scenario, as well as future first-round picks, the story speculates. The Lakers are trying to acquire another first-round pick in a separate deal through a willingness to take on one or more bad contracts, the story adds.

The Spurs are not showing any urgency to make a trade, Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports tweets. San Antonio didn’t view the draft as a deadline, so it’s unlikely they’ll view free agency as a deadline, Mannix adds.

The Celtics, Cavaliers, Sixers, and Clippers are among the teams that have made offers for Leonard, and multiple teams in that group figure to be in the mix for James as well.

Lakers Feeling Pressure To Land Kawhi Before LeBron Decision?

June 27th, 2018 at 11:29am CST by Luke Adams

Pressure appears to be mounting on the Lakers to make a deal for Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard before LeBron James makes his free agent decision, according to Adrian Wojnarowski, Brian Windhorst, and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.

As ESPN’s report explains, there’s a belief that James would be reluctant to commit to the Lakers in free agency if he’s the only star headed to Los Angeles. With Paul George no longer viewed as a lock to land in L.A., Leonard may represent the Lakers’ best bet to acquire another star to help convince James to head west.

James’ player-option decision due on Friday, so there’s a race to acquire Leonard by then, per Woj, Windhorst, and Shelburne. The Celtics, Cavaliers, Sixers, and Clippers are among the teams that have made offers for Leonard, and multiple teams in that group figure to be in the mix for James too. If the Lakers were to lose out on Leonard to, say, the Sixers or Cavs, it could reduce L.A.’s chances of recruiting LeBron to L.A.

Of course, the Spurs have stated they won’t rush into any trade involving Leonard, since their preference would be to retain him. It’s possible that they receive an offer this week that they simply can’t refuse, but the Spurs likely won’t be eager to improve another team’s chances of landing James.

Here are several other key updates related to the Lakers, Cavaliers, James, Leonard, and more:

Although the Lakers came away from their initial conversation with the Spurs feeling like San Antonio “shut the door” on them, ESPN’s trio reports that the Spurs haven’t ruled out trading Leonard to any destination in the Eastern or Western Conference.
The Lakers have been on the lookout for a future first-round pick on the trade market and are willing to take on 2018/19 salary, per ESPN. The Lakers could keep a max-salary slot open for a free agent even if they take on some salary, and that pick could be used to sweeten a larger trade package.
While the Cavaliers have been actively exploring ways to upgrade their roster via trades or free agency, they haven’t been given the chance to meet with or discuss scenarios with James, league sources tell ESPN. With LeBron unwilling to commit to the Cavs, it will be tricky for the front office to execute a major trade in the interim. For instance, if George were to consider picking up his player option to accommodate a trade to Cleveland, he’d want to know that James was sticking around.
Although the Cavaliers have inquired about Leonard, they probably don’t have the assets to pull off a deal, given their competition for the star forward, per ESPN’s report.
James is hoping to decide on his free agent destination fairly quickly, according to ESPN.
Some league executives who spoke to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News believe that James would be willing to sign with the Lakers even if the team hasn’t made any other impact moves yet. “They’re doing enough research to suggest that he’s going to be willing to take that plunge and let the roster come together,” one GM told Deveney. “It’s what happened in Cleveland four years ago.” When James signed with the Cavaliers in 2014, he did so before the team had finalized a trade for Kevin Love.

Southwest Notes: Mavericks, Spurs, Morey, Gasol

June 26th, 2018 at 7:14pm CST by clarkcrum

Despite perhaps winning the 2018 NBA Draft with the selection of some pundits’ top-ranked player, Luka Doncic, Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram doesn’t see the Mavericks making the playoffs next season, writing that Dallas will likely end up picking in the NBA Draft Lottery for a second straight summer in 2019.

The projected lineup of Dennis Smith Jr., the aforementioned rookie Doncic, Harrison Barnes, Dirk Nowitzki and a center-to-be-named-later, while an improvement, is not enough to crack the top eight of Western Conference, in Engel’s opinion, even if that new center is potential free agent DeAndre Jordan or free-agent-to-be DeMarcus Cousins.

Despite the hype surrounding Doncic and his experience playing with professionals overseas, he will still be an NBA rookie next season, and as Mavericks’ president Donnie Nelson puts it, that means “he’s going to get his rear end handed to him.” Add in the fact that Smith Jr. is also still only 20 years old, and you’re left with one of the youngest – albeit most talented – backcourts in the NBA, which is probably not enough in the deep Western Conference.

There’s more from the Southwest Division.

With Danny Green choosing to opt in for the 2018/19 season, the Spurs are situated to be near the projected salary cap line of $101MM at the beginning of free agency, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN. Marks adds that in addition to renouncing free agents Tony Parker and Rudy Gay, the Spurs would also likely need to unload some heftier contracts like those belonging to Green and Pau Gasol in order to create cap room this summer.
Per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Rockets’ general manager Daryl Morey said the team wasn’t really close to making a deal to move up in last week’s NBA Draft, but that there was an opportunity to move into the No. 20 to No. 25 range.
Pau Gasol is doubtful that the Spurs and Kawhi Leonard can mend their relationship, telling EpDeportes, via Jeff Garcia of Spurs Zone, “I do not know if the situation can be rectified after Kawhi’s request to leave, I do not know if a multi-million dollar offer would fix it, he has not talked to him for a long time, he’s a very reserved player.”

Amick’s Latest: CP3, Rockets, Kawhi, Cavs, George

June 23rd, 2018 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

There’s a “strong sense in Rockets circles” that Chris Paul isn’t go anywhere this offseason as a free agent, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. While a recent report from Chris Broussard of Fox Sports hinted at possible tension between Paul and the Rockets, Amick spoke to two sources with knowledge of the situation who disputed the idea that there’s any friction there.

Broussard’s report suggested that there might be a disparity between what sort of free agent contract Paul expected when he accommodated a trade to Houston last summer and what the Rockets are willing to offer now. According to Amick, there was indeed a “mutual understanding” in 2017 of what Paul’s next contract would look like, and it’s not clear if a five-year, maximum-salary agreement will be on the table. However, it seems likely that the two sides will reach an agreement, per Amick.

Here are a few more items of interest from Amick:

When it comes to Kawhi Leonard, the Spurs seem determined to either fix the situation or trade him to an Eastern Conference team, according to Amick, who says that Western clubs inquiring on Leonard have “been told, in essence, to get lost.” We heard earlier this week that the Spurs “basically shut the door” on the Lakers when they called about Leonard.
The Cavaliers have contacted the Spurs to ask about Leonard, but there’s no traction toward a potential deal, per Amick. San Antonio has welcomed offers for its All-Star forward, but hasn’t engaged in any trade negotiations.
Amick is the latest reporter to suggest that there’s a real possibility of Paul George remaining with the Thunder, writing that George has strong relationships with Russell Westbrook and Billy Donovan. Interestingly, Amick adds that there’s “pessimism in [LeBron] James‘ camp” that George would leave Oklahoma City — that could work against the Lakers, who are expected to try to land both George and James.

Buford: Spurs Still Hope To Repair Relationship With Kawhi

June 22nd, 2018 at 12:19am CST by Luke Adams

Asked on Thursday night about the Kawhi Leonard situation, Spurs general manager R.C. Buford admitted that the relationship between the team and its star player needs work, but said San Antonio’s preferred outcome would be to keep Leonard on its roster going forward, per Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News.

“Kawhi and his family mean a lot to our organization and to our community,” Buford said. “While none of us would wish we are where we are, we are going to do what we can to build the best relationship we can with him. We will explore all of our options, but the first one would be to keep Kawhi as part of our group.”

After being at odds with the Spurs during the 2017/18 season over the treatment of Leonard’s quadriceps injury, his camp informed the media last week that the star forward would like to be traded, preferably to the Lakers. However, the Spurs hadn’t yet had a face-to-face meeting with Leonard to discuss the situation at that point.

Leonard reportedly met with head coach Gregg Popovich in San Diego within the last few days, and while it’s not clear whether any progress was made during that sit-down, the Spurs still sound like they’ll do all they can to mend fences. Asked about a potential timeline for resolution on the situation, Buford didn’t offer any specifics.

“I don’t know that timing is a factor in this,” Buford said, per McDonald. “[Leonard] is under contract for another year. Our goal is to keep him as part of our program for a long time.”

The Spurs have reportedly been listening to other teams’ inquiries on – and offers for – Leonard, but haven’t been making calls themselves and aren’t actively trying to move the two-time Defensive Player of the Year.

Spurs Listening To Leonard Offers; Lakers Have Inquired

June 21st, 2018 at 2:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

2:49pm: The Lakers have reached out to the Spurs about dealing for Leonard, but no specifics have been discussed, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. The contact came within the past week, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, with a Lakers’ source saying, “they basically shut the door on us.” (Twitter link)

1:20pm: The Spurs are willing to listen to offers on Kawhi Leonard but haven’t spoken with the Lakers, Leonard’s preferred landing spot, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

San Antonio has not been making calls about Leonard but it will field offers and add them to the list of proposals, Wojnarowski adds. This suggests that the Spurs’ front office is losing hope of resolving the impasse between the club and its star forward.

With Leonard still under contract, San Antonio isn’t in any hurry to make a trade. Unless there’s a dramatic and overwhelming proposal, it’s not going to happen on draft night.

Leonard met with head coach Gregg Popovich on Tuesday in San Diego but that didn’t alter his request to be traded. Leonard’s desire to be dealt over the way the franchise handled his quad injury last season, and comments make by Popovich and guard Tony Parker about his ability to play, was revealed last week.

Leonard can become an unrestricted free agent next summer.