The CELTICS Are Fully Engaged With the Spurs for Kawhi Leonard
The Spurs are fully engaged in trade talks with several teams on Kawhi Leonard, including the Lakers and Celtics, league sources tell ESPN. Boston has long had the assets that the Spurs most covet in a potential Leonard trade.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 28, 2018
The Spurs can still play long game with Leonard, try to repair relationship and get to a place where they’re comfortable offering $219M super max. The urgency to get a deal done belongs to Lakers now, but circumstances and leverage can change quickly. https://t.co/RIralTBUe9
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 28, 2018
Boston’s extremely cautious on Leonard front. There’s so much uncertainty w/ Leonard’s future — health, free agent desires, etc. Will Leonard be same player? That’s hard to tell. Celtics don’t have to make a risky trade and have no intention to do so. It’s an interesting dance. https://t.co/gVECzgxrYM
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 28, 2018
WOJ BOMB.
What’s up boys and girls. Another day, another Kawhi Leonard rumor. According to Woj, the Spurs are “fully engaged” in trade talks with multiple teams surrounding Kawhi Leonard. Among those teams are the Celtics and the Lakers.
We all know what it would take to get Kawhi Leonard to Boston. Probably Jaylen Brown, Marcus Morris, and some sort of sign and trade including Marcus Smart to match up the salaries. Oh, and a shit ton of draft picks. Sacramento, Memphis, LAC, you name it. The package Danny Ainge can offer far outweighs what any other team in this race can. It isn’t even close.
If Kawhi commits to Boston long-term, I’d be okay with a package similar to the one I just mentioned above. The people who aren’t comfortable trading Jaylen Brown seem to forget just how good Leonard really is. Don’t get me wrong here either, I’m probably one of the biggest Jaylen supporters out there. I love that guy. But when Kawhi is healthy, he’s already one of, if not the best two-way players in the NBA.
With all of that said though, I don’t think Kawhi is going to wind up in green. The Celtics aren’t in a position where they HAVE to make a major splash like trading for Kawhi Leonard. Their roster is built for both current and future success. A trade for Leonard would just speed that process up, which I personally would be okay with. But I also wouldn’t be mad if they decide to hold on to their pieces here.
Part of me thinks this whole thing is a smoke screen and Danny Ainge is just trying to screw with Magic Johnson. Just by getting his name in the conversation, Ainge automatically forces any other team to jack up their offer. I’m sure he would love to see Magic throw all of his chips on the table for a guy he could probably get in free agency next year for nothing. I know I would.
-Nick Cherico (@NickCherico2)