Spurs open to trading Kawhi to Lakers

[levon]

The WT summation is not the same as the article. Clickbait. They (reporters) are leaving it open that the spurs are now open by saying they have not ruled out anyone. That is not the same thing as saying they are open to it, lol. ESPN is a trip.

The Spurs having not ruled any team out means the Lakers are not being "shut out" as was being reported before the draft. The "shut out" report was false.

I don't recall a shut out report. I do recall a report they were called and they did not discuss it. That was not necessarily false. At this point there is no report of any consideration at all to any team for Kawhi. At this point the only report straight from Buford was that they would do everything to keep Kawhi up and to the trade deadline. This report does not refute that either. It just seems to make everyone exited (LA side) but not really an indication that anything has changed on the SAS side.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/kawhi-leonard-trade-rumors-spurs-listening-to-offers-lakers-being-shut-out-in-discussions-for-star/

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[Catchall]

If I were the Spurs, I'd go on vacation and revisit the situation with Kawhi around training camp.

[Luigi]

The Spurs have no reason to not just wait until the trade deadline if they feel like it. They either get an offer that they want or they don't. The Lakers are the ones who need this to happen now.

Lakers can sign Kawhi next year with cap space if they don’t get Lebron this year.

this is good for the Lakers, and for Kawhi (if all the news about him wanting to be a Laker and just a Laker are really true)

But if they use their cap space on 2 stars next summer, they won't be able to acquire a third, right?

I was assuming that by singing Lebron and George, this would let them get the third star (Leonard) by trade. But the way that the cap gets calculated and order of operations during summer transactions confuses me.

[red96]

And they will make LA pay a hefty price.

[Driguez]

Assuming LA has the caproom and/or the team that has Kawhi is willing

The only assumption to be made is it has been made clear as day by Leonards camp he wants to be in LA, so I'm expecting a deal to either LA team sooner or later. SAS will want to get the most possible and the only teams that can do that are in LA.

Which doesnt really mean anything. Everyone assumed 100% that PG13 was coming to LA, its not at all a lock. Or that LeBron would be staying in Miami, or that KD was likely to re-up in OKC and definitely not join the W's..

A ton can change in a year and while Leonard is trying to force the Spurs' hand right now, he really doesnt have the power. If someone beats the Lakers' offer, the Spurs take it. They have no concerns about where Leonard plays. And if that new team finds that Kawhi wants to leave and the Lakers have used all their space, that new team has to be enticed to send Kawhi over there via S&T.

This is exactly like PG13 last year, and he didnt wind up a Laker

You have a point, but in this case Leonard has SAS hostage. Yeah, it could happen that he's dealt to another team, but it would be silly for any team to give up anything of substance for a potential one year rental. I know I wouldn't, but who knows. If I was a betting man I would double down on the Lakers since they have the most youth.

[PhilBlackson]

And they will make LA pay a hefty price.

Any price that allows Kawhi + LeBron to play together in LA won't be hefty enough.

[Luigi]

The Spurs having not ruled any team out means the Lakers are not being "shut out" as was being reported before the draft. The "shut out" report was false.

I don't recall a shut out report. I do recall a report they were called and they did not discuss it. That was not necessarily false. At this point there is no report of any consideration at all to any team for Kawhi. At this point the only report straight from Buford was that they would do everything to keep Kawhi up and to the trade deadline. This report does not refute that either. It just seems to make everyone exited (LA side) but not really an indication that anything has changed on the SAS side.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/kawhi-leonard-trade-rumors-spurs-listening-to-offers-lakers-being-shut-out-in-discussions-for-star/

Read on Twitter

This is a week old though. The current wiretap is misleading, but it seems like the game is back on here.

[zimpy27]

Obviously, they were just holding out to get more, I'm thinking it worked

[Luigi]

Obviously, they were just holding out to get more, I'm thinking it worked

I also think it was clear when they leaked that they had no interest in Ball. I has to be Ingram + Kuzma.

[DieYoung]

The Spurs never ruled any trade partners out in the first place, so this isn't anything new being reported.
There is just additional smoke now because it's obvious Lebron wants to go to the Lakers but not without at least one other good player on the roster.
Lebron is pressuring the Lakers to make it happen, but the Spurs aren't too excited about being pawns in the Lakers-Kawhi tampering saga, nor should they be. They will either get a massive haul -- Ingram, Kuzma, no Deng, additional picks, and probably a S&T Randle to match salary -- or they will keep Kawhi and offer him the supermax and trade him down the road to a different team if necessary.
Those are most likely the Lakers' choices. I can see Magic folding and giving up the farm once he realizes it's Kawhi & Lebron or neither and another season in the late lottery.

Give up what farm though? Ingram's injury prone and has shown no flash of being anything more than average in his career thus far (neg RPM, sub-15 PER). Kuz is one-dimensional trash putting up numbers on a bad Laker team(Clarkson and Nance Jr for example). They have no decent picks to speak of. And max contract Randle as a sweetener . That's not a farm, that's a death sentence for
the Spurs and only accelerates the process for the franchise to move out of SA. Might as well hold onto Kawhi until the supermax deadline in mid-October.

[woosah]

The Spurs having not ruled any team out means the Lakers are not being "shut out" as was being reported before the draft. The "shut out" report was false.

I don't recall a shut out report. I do recall a report they were called and they did not discuss it. That was not necessarily false. At this point there is no report of any consideration at all to any team for Kawhi. At this point the only report straight from Buford was that they would do everything to keep Kawhi up and to the trade deadline. This report does not refute that either. It just seems to make everyone exited (LA side) but not really an indication that anything has changed on the SAS side.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/kawhi-leonard-trade-rumors-spurs-listening-to-offers-lakers-being-shut-out-in-discussions-for-star/

Read on Twitter

Those are the same reports i am referring to. You took that as shut them out forever or would never speak to them? I didn't so i guess that's why we see it different. My same stance is there. They never said they would not trade with the lakers. Now is not their timeline based on what Buford said.

“Kawhi and his family mean a lot to our organization and to the community,” Buford said after the NBA draft Thursday night. “And while none of us would wish we are where we are, we're going to do what we can to build the best relationship we can with him, and we'll explore all of our options. But the first one would be to do what we can to keep Kawhi as a part of our group.

“I don't know that timing's a factor in this,” Buford continued. “He's under contract for another year. Our goal is to keep him as a part of our program for a long time.”

https://www.complex.com/sports/2018/06/spurs-rc-buford-says-team-plans-to-keep-kawhi-leonard-long-time

Nothing has changed for SAS.

[RoyceDa59]

I am probably one of the only non-Lakers fans that hopes this happens. I miss the Lakers being a great team, because I think it's more entertaining for the league. If Lakers can land Kawhi, I think all the pieces fall into place and they also get LeBron + 3rd star.

I think deep down LeBron wants to go to LA because of the weather and off-court advantages, but he won't go there unless he knows he can compete for a chip right away. George isn't enough, but Kawhi absolutely is. If they don't land Leonard, I see James going to Houston or maybe Philly instead.

If LeBron can bring the Lakers another championship or two, his legacy will skyrocket because he'll absorb all the Kobe fans who have hated him for the past 10 years. If he does that, they'll jump on his brand as the GOAT and he may be able to surpass Jordan's legacy.

In many ways, if James joins a new team to try and win a few more chips, they'll mean more in LA for his overall legacy and brand, plus he will have so many other opportunities.

Let's be honest, LA is an awesome city, and James wants to be there, but only if it's a super team.

I hope this happens - send Leonard to LA and let's see how the other chips fall.

[ButCanMarkDunk]

Ball
Kawhi/JHart
George
Bron
Center

Would make for a decent team.

[Javier Acosta]

And they will make LA pay a hefty price.

Any price that allows Kawhi + LeBron to play together in LA won't be hefty enough.

If Kawhi sees all that drama he will ask for an another trade.

[Pythagoras]

This confirms what I expected. The Celtics can put together the best package for Kawhi, but Ainge is cold-blooded when it comes to negotiating, and he is under 0 pressure to get a deal done.

The Sixers package isn’t nearly as enticing as everybody believes.

The Lakers can legitimately offer the best, realistic package. The most I’d offer Ingram and Kuzma, but they’d HAVE to take Deng. No extra picks.

That’s fair for everyone.

Would the Lakers rather give up Ingram or Ball though if they know LeBron is coming?

They'd almost certainly rather give up Ball, but the Spurs have seemingly no interest in Ball. I don't know how any trade talks progress if we take Ingram off the table.

[Catchall]

Actually, opening the door to discussions with the Lakers will just drive the price up for the Sixers or Celtics. Smart move.

[zimpy27]

Obviously, they were just holding out to get more, I'm thinking it worked

I also think it was clear when they leaked that they had no interest in Ball. I has to be Ingram + Kuzma.

Yep, exactly that. I think it's Deng, Ingram, Kuzma, Wagner. Mo Wagner is a Spurs player, system player that thrives in ball movement as a big.

[r0drig0lac]

The Spurs never ruled any trade partners out in the first place, so this isn't anything new being reported.
There is just additional smoke now because it's obvious Lebron wants to go to the Lakers but not without at least one other good player on the roster.
Lebron is pressuring the Lakers to make it happen, but the Spurs aren't too excited about being pawns in the Lakers-Kawhi tampering saga, nor should they be. They will either get a massive haul -- Ingram, Kuzma, no Deng, additional picks, and probably a S&T Randle to match salary -- or they will keep Kawhi and offer him the supermax and trade him down the road to a different team if necessary.
Those are most likely the Lakers' choices. I can see Magic folding and giving up the farm once he realizes it's Kawhi & Lebron or neither and another season in the late lottery.

Give up what farm though? Ingram's injury prone and has shown no flash of being anything more than average in his career thus far (neg RPM, sub-15 PER). Kuz is one-dimensional trash putting up numbers on a bad Laker team(Clarkson and Nance Jr for example). They have no decent picks to speak of. And max contract Randle as a sweetener . That's not a farm, that's a death sentence for
the Spurs and only accelerates the process for the franchise to move out of SA. Might as well hold onto Kawhi until the supermax deadline in mid-October.

is there any "process" going on about it?

[Luigi]

The Spurs never ruled any trade partners out in the first place, so this isn't anything new being reported.
There is just additional smoke now because it's obvious Lebron wants to go to the Lakers but not without at least one other good player on the roster.
Lebron is pressuring the Lakers to make it happen, but the Spurs aren't too excited about being pawns in the Lakers-Kawhi tampering saga, nor should they be. They will either get a massive haul -- Ingram, Kuzma, no Deng, additional picks, and probably a S&T Randle to match salary -- or they will keep Kawhi and offer him the supermax and trade him down the road to a different team if necessary.
Those are most likely the Lakers' choices. I can see Magic folding and giving up the farm once he realizes it's Kawhi & Lebron or neither and another season in the late lottery.

Give up what farm though? Ingram's injury prone and has shown no flash of being anything more than average in his career thus far (neg RPM, sub-15 PER). Kuz is one-dimensional trash putting up numbers on a bad Laker team(Clarkson and Nance Jr for example). They have no decent picks to speak of. And max contract Randle as a sweetener . That's not a farm, that's a death sentence for
the Spurs and only accelerates the process for the franchise to move out of SA. Might as well hold onto Kawhi until the supermax deadline in mid-October.

A time sensitive Lakers offer might be the best the Spurs can get though. Ingram, Kuzma, (or Hart) future 1st rounder isn't terrible. That offer won't be there after this summer.

Can the Spurs do better than that? Options:
- 1 year of unmotivated, selfish Leonard.
- Ingram, Kuzma (or Hart), future 1st.
- [some other trade offer, what do you have in mind?]
- work it out with the girl who said it's time to break up?

[levon]

Those are the same reports i am referring to. You took that as shut them out forever or would never speak to them? I didn't so i guess that's why we see it different. My same stance is there. They never said they would not trade with the lakers. Now is not their timeline based on what Buford said.

The reports were that the Spurs were listening to offers from other teams, but didn't even listen to an offer from the Lakers. This new ESPN report and subsequent WT is directly referring to and refuting that report. We've had the potential Clippers offer leak as well, which highlights the purported asymmetry in the Spurs dealing with the Lakers. There've been multiple opinions that the Spurs won't do it. There was a thread on here mocking Laker fans as an aftermath. I don't know why you're finessing this.