Los Angeles Lakers: Team hesitant to discuss Kawhi Leonard trade due to his health
The Los Angeles Lakers are doing the right thing in being careful in the Kawhi Leonard sweepstakes.
Rumor has it that the Los Angeles Lakers are the desired preference of Kawhi Leonard. According to reports, Leonard made it known recently that he no longer wants to be on the San Antonio Spurs. However, other teams like the Clippers are in the hunt to acquire Leonard’s services.
Leonard truly established himself as one of the league’s elite players in 2016-2017. During his All-Star campaign, he averaged 25.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. Moreover, the small forward tallied a career high in regular season games played with 74.
When Leonard continues to be thought about, it is impossible to not bring up his stellar defense. With two Defensive Player of the Year awards under his belt, the 26-year-old is one of the league’s most talented two-way players.
Leonard’s 2014 NBA Finals MVP level performance cannot be forgotten about, either. Against what at the time was a stacked Miami Heat ballclub, the young man helped neutralize LeBron James to give the Spurs their fifth world championship.
Taking this into account, it is fair to say that San Antonio will want to be blown away if a trade was to be considered.
With respect to the Lakers, Leonard would instantly give them that star power they have been lacking. His presence alone could be enough to entice other stars to come to Los Angeles.
While the 6-foot-7 forward would make L.A. more marketable, the Lakers (and Clippers) are hesitant to start trade discussions with the Spurs. The primary reasoning behind the reticence revolves around Leonard’s health.
Via Harrison Faigen of SB Nation (originally courtesy of Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times), the L.A. teams are worried about the “severity” of Leonard’s injury.
"“Neither the Lakers nor Clippers have had trade discussions with the Spurs, as both teams have concerns about the severity of Leonard’s injury. He spent several months away from the team while rehabbing, which led to public barbs from Spurs coach Gregg Popovich about Leonard’s absence — an unusual move for the Spurs.”"
For those who have been sleeping under a rock, Leonard missed most of the 2017-2018 season due to a lingering quad injury. The Claw made just nine appearances for the Spurs.
In those nine games, Kawhi was certainly not at the top of his game. He averaged 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. According to Michael Kaskey-Blomain of 247 Sports, those numbers fall short of his career averages.
As a result, it is not like the Lakers’ (and Clippers’) reluctance to begin trade discussions with San Antonio is baseless. Leonard’s off year was not reflective of the superstar status many became accustomed to seeing.
However, the primary point of contention still concerns Leonard’s health. There is no denying that when the two-time All-Star is healthy, he is one of the NBA’s best ballers.
The interesting thing is that few, if any, know much about Leonard’s physical state. That is the heart of the matter as of now.
Thus, the Lakers’ thirst to want to learn more about Kawhi Leonard’s health is logical. How much they manage to uncover, on the other hand, is another story.
The Spurs themselves have never been given much information relative to Leonard. The lack of knowledge led to some drama within the organization, which is uncharted territory for the Spurs. They have arguably been the least fragmented team in sports since the turn of the century.
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Part of the drama initiated when Popovich appeared to question the legitimacy of No. 2’s quad injury. There came a point later in the season when Leonard was cleared by the Spurs’ medical staff to play. Despite that, the player’s personal representatives never believed he was ready to return to the court.
This difference in opinion caused Popovich to say the following, according to Chris Roling of Bleacher Report.
"“You’ll have to ask Kawhi and his group that question [about his availability],” Popovich told reporters in April. “So far, they say that he’s not ready to go, so we can’t do anything until that happens…and then we would have to decide what’s going on from there. But that’s the first thing that has to happen.”"
This in itself is surely something the Lakers and other teams will need to keep in mind. In all sincerity, such comments make it easy to question Leonard’s dedication to the Spurs’ franchise.
Injuries can happen to anyone at any point in time. In this specific case, though, Popovich does bring up an important matter. When there is little to no communication between a player and the rest of his team, that is a legitimate reason to be concerned as well.
As harsh as it may sound, it is as if Leonard practically gave up on the Spurs this year. Consequently, if the Lakers wish to trade for the two-way talent, they better be convinced that the former All-Star is all in.
If the purple and gold put together a package for Kawhi, it would have to be a mighty big one. A hypothetical deal would likely need to include pieces (yes, plural) from their young core and a draft pick.
Therefore, it is critical that the Lakers are doing their homework. Trading for a guy when his health condition is still enigmatic is probably not the smartest move. Such a choice would potentially compromise the team’s future.
Their young core has a lot to offer, so, even if Leonard was healthy, trading for him would be a gamble.
The Spurs’ star is a big deal, there is no doubt about it. Nevertheless, because his overall condition remains murky at best, Los Angeles’ cautious approach is practical. As was said, too, Los Angeles is going to want someone that is willing to commit himself to the organization.
Next: 3 Benefits To The Lakers Trading For Kawhi Leonard
The Lakers have a lot riding on this summer. Whether they think someone like Leonard deserves to be a part of their future may depend upon belief more than anything. This is so because, as of now, things are still up in the air with the ballplayer.