Los Angeles Lakers: Things that must happen for a Kawhi Leonard trade
By Jason Reed
Kawhi Leonard reportedly wants out of San Antonio and the Los Angeles Lakers have emerged as the clear favorites to land the hometown star forward.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been connected to several superstars this summer, dating back over a year. After going through a five-year rebuilding stretch, this summer was circled by many fans as the summer in which the Lakers would return to showtime.
While LeBron James and Paul George have been the most talked about superstars, a new name has seriously entered the fray in Kawhi Leonard. Sources finally confirmed what seemed inevitable: Kawhi Leonard wants out of San Antonio.
San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard has Los Angeles — preferably the Lakers — at the center of his preferences for a trade destination, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 15, 2018
The Kawhi Leonard-San Antonio Spurs saga has been well documented. Leonard only played nine games last season due to an injury that the Spurs seemingly cleared him for. The star forward likely learned from Isaiah Thomas, who rushed back from injury and is now missing out on the max contract he otherwise would have earned.
Many have speculated that the two sides would eventually part ways. However, during all of that mess, reports surfaced that the Spurs were planning on giving Leonard the super max deal to help ease the tension.
Money talks, however, in this case, it seems to not matter much to Leonard. While he may lose out slightly if he leaves San Antonio, he would make far more in marketing in Los Angeles and could form the best super team in NBA history.
Thus, everyone has been dreaming up their own Kawhi Leonard trade scenario with the Los Angeles Lakers. And as exciting as this trade may be, these three things must happen for the Lakers to seriously consider trading for Kawhi Leonard.