Recent Lakers rumors have been about potential trades that could bring in Kawhi Leonard. What is the reported asking price from the Spurs?
With NBA Free Agency in full swing, there have been plenty of Lakers rumors about which players are coming and going. For the Lakers, they had a really strong start to free agency.
The Lakers started with a bang, as they were able to sign LeBron James to a four-year deal. Getting James to commit long-term to the Lakers without another star in place was very surprising, as he has been taking short deals the past few years.
After James signed, the Lakers were able to add Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee, and Rajon Rondo. Even though they didn’t sign a star like Paul George, the Lakers have a lot of talent on the roster now, with a good mix of youth and veterans.
However, the Lakers would still surely like to add Kawhi Leonard to their roster. While it is pretty clear that Leonard would like to play for the Lakers, the Spurs aren’t willing to give him up without getting a haul in return.
According to Larry Coon of Spectrum SportsNet, the Spurs are asking for Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, two first-round picks, and two pick swaps for Leonard.
While Leonard is one of the best talents in the NBA when healthy, this is a ridiculous request from the Spurs if accurate. Since the Spurs do still have Leonard under contract for next season, they have some power in these negotiations. However, the Lakers getting their star in James already has certainly made their need for Leonard a little less.
If Leonard truly wants to be a Laker, he can just sign next offseason without the Lakers having to give up the world to get him. While there is no guarantee that it will work out that way for the Lakers, the asking price for him as of now is too high.
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For the Spurs, the longer they hold on to Leonard, the less they are going to get in return for him. The Lakers certainly have assets to acquire him, but they need a realistic asking price to seriously considering making the move.