NBA Trade Rumors: Should The Los Angeles Lakers Pursue Kawhi Leonard?
The Los Angeles Lakers' plan to free up as much salary cap space as possible to sign two players to maximum contracts this offseason is probably one of the worst-kept secrets in the National Basketball Association (NBA) right now.
Adding two All-Star caliber players like LeBron James and Paul George will likely catapult the Lakers back into title contender status. However, that is not a sure thing at this point.
Interestingly, Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus has suggested that the Lakers should attempt to acquire San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard if they miss out on their free agent targets.
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"If Los Angeles wants to rush the process, it could offer one or two key pieces to San Antonio in June for Leonard. Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Luol Deng work for Leonard (and Brandon Paul, for salary matching), although different combinations can be built to include ones with Lonzo Ball and/or Josh Hart. The numbers are more forgiving in July when salaries roll over to the next season," Pincus said in his column.
"That would be a bold move for both teams. If Leonard intends to leave the Spurs, they land two bright prospects in return," he added.
NJ Advance Media's Zack Rosenblatt has also suggested offering Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, and their 2019 first-round draft pick to the Spurs if the All-Star forward is placed on the trading block.
Well, a lot of things will have to fall into place for the Lakers to acquire Leonard. First of all, the Spurs have to be willing to part ways with him, and at the moment, they have given no indication that they are willing to do so. The Lakers will also have to be willing to give up their core of young players to acquire the two-time Defensive Player of the Year.
At any rate, the Lakers should probably monitor Leonard's situation closely this summer.
