Kawhi Leonard remains on the trading block in San Antonio.Eric Gay/Associated Press
The next move is up to the Los Angeles Lakers.
They certainly made a huge splash when superstar LeBron James agreed to join them as a free agent over the weekend and Rajon Rondo did the same thing Monday, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, but the Golden State Warriors made their own countermove when DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins agreed to a deal for the upcoming season.
Cousins gave the Warriors a bargain, giving his approval to a one-year, $5.3-million deal, per Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press.
The Lakers can add to their offseason moves by trading for Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs. He wants to become a Laker, according to Wojnarowski.
The combination of Leonard and James would give the Lakers an impressive combination at the forward position, but what would it take to pry Leonard away from the Spurs? San Antonio knows it has one of the best assets in the league when healthy, and the Spurs want to get proper value in return for this two-time, NBA first-team all-star.
The Lakers should think long and hard before they part with any of their key assets. They know Leonard wants out of San Antonio and they also know he has just one year left on his contract. If that aspect does not change over the next season, they will be able to make an offer to Leonard that would allow him to become a part of the team on a more permanent basis.
That may be the smarter approach, but it may be difficult for a franchise that has been struggling in recent years to wait patiently for a player who could accelerate their return to contention.
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To build around Kevin Love or to rebuild: what should the Cavs do? Photo: Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer. https://t.co/2AdMGfHu8M
Leonard may not be the only NBA star who could be on the trade market.
Cleveland’s Kevin Love is no longer part of a championship contender, and that means the Cavaliers are in a state of flux. Whether the Cavs are willing to admit it, they will have to rebuild and retool their franchise.
Sources around the league told The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd that they are “open” to moving him. That runs counter to a report from Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com that stated the Cavaliers are not going to be moving assets in an effort to rebuild.
Love has two years and $50 million left on his contract, but the Vardon piece makes the point that they are not interested in trading him at this point. However, as more time goes by and Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert has a chance to accept the departure of James, he could take a more realistic view of whether moving Love would help his team on a long-term basis.
Other players who have been reported to be on the trading block include Denver’s Wilson Chandler, New York’s Courtney Lee and Atlanta’s Kent Bazemore, per TNT’s David Aldridge.
The Houston Rockets, viewed as the Warriors’ top challenger in the Western Conference prior to the James signing by the Lakers, are interested in Chandler, per Rockets Wire’s Kelly Iko.
Iko reported the Rockets think the wing player could be a positive asset for the franchise.
Chandler averaged 10.0 points and 5.4 rebounds last season for the Nuggets. Lee, a 32-year-old shooting guard, averaged 12.0 points and shot 45.4 percent from the field for the Knicks last season, while Bazemore averaged 12.9 points per game for the Hawks.
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