According to recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors, the team has re-engaged the San Antonio Spurs in trade talks for Kawhi Leonard.
Los Angeles Lakers rumors have really picked up with NBA Free Agency just days away. The team has big plans in free agency, but a lot of the recent Lakers rumors have involved the San Antonio Spurs and Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard made waves in recent weeks about his desire to leave San Antonio. At the top of his wish list for his next team to play for is the Lakers. However, things did not go well for the Lakers at the start.
San Antonio was not interested in doing a deal with the Lakers, essentially shutting the door on them according to Ramon Shelburne. Persistence is key, however, as Los Angeles was not going to give up that easily.
Shelburne said that the Lakers had re-engaged the Spurs in trade talks centered around Leonard. It was the first contact between the two organizations since San Antonio closed the door on them, she said.
Update from this morning’s story. The Lakers re-engaged the Spurs Wednesday in aggressively pursuing Kawhi Leonard. Story w/ @wojespn coming shortly on ESPN. This is the first contact between the teams since the Spurs “shut the door” on them after an initial call.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) June 28, 2018
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Brian Windhorst and Shelburne, the pressure is mounting on Los Angeles to make a deal for Leonard. This is not because of the bold statement that Magic Johnson made about stepping down if he is unable to land a superstar in Los Angeles. The pressure is mounting because of hesitancy being shown by LeBron James.
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James is the No. 1 target for the Lakers in free agency this summer. However, he is hesitant to be the first superstar to commit to the Lakers without knowing if other players will be joining him.
The trio of Wojnarowski, Windhorst and Shelburne reported that the Lakers are racing to make a deal for Leonard prior to Friday’s deadline for players and team’s to decide on options included in contracts.
This situation with Leonard is unfolding in a similar fashion to how last year’s pursuit of Paul George went. The Lakers were unable to land George in a trade, as he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, Los Angeles operated under the assumption he would sign with the team this offseason as a free agent.
That seems to be how things could play out this year as well. Leonard has stated his desire to play with the Lakers, but there are plenty of teams that would take a one-year rental on him to try and convince him to stay with their organization long-term.
Next: 3 Benefits To The Lakers Pursuing Kawhi Leonard
Landing Leonard in a trade would be an ideal start to the Lakers offseason overhaul before free agency gets underway. However, that is easier said than done, as San Antonio has seemingly not wanted to do business with them.