Spurs Reportedly Want Essentially the Entire Lakers Core for Kawhi Leonard
It's no secret the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers are engaged in trade talks for
Kawhi Leonard. Having
missed out on Paul George, the Lakers seem keen on acquiring Kawhi this summer. But the Spurs' asking price is reportedly astronomical:
Brandon Ingram,
Kyle Kuzma,
Josh Hart, two first-round picks,
andtwo pick swaps. You read that sentence correctly.
The report comes from CBA expert and Lakers insider Larry Coon, who shared his intel with Spectrum SportsNet.
"From what I hear, they're asking a lot...they're just saying, 'Give us everything,'" Coon said.
No kidding.
If the Lakers made this deal—which, spoiler alert, they will not—they'd essentially be left with
Lonzo Ball,
LeBron James,
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and the players they acquired this offseason—
Rajon Rondo,
Lance Stephenson, and
JaVale McGee. If you add Kawhi to that mix, it's a decent squad—but certainly not one that's going to challenge the best of the best.
San Antonio seems to be employing the classic bargaining strategy of asking for
way too much in the hopes they'll settle somewhere in the middle. The Spurs have to be careful, though: their absurd asking price might put off the Lakers, spurring L.A. to halt negotiations and decide instead to pursue Kawhi in free agency next summer.
After all, it seems clear as day
he wants to end up in L.A.at some point.
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