The Los Angeles Lakers are on the clock for Kawhi Leonard, as the Philadelphia 76ers and other teams around the league are prepared to flood the San Antonio Spurs with trade offers, per reports. That means that if the Lakers want to sign LeBron James, they need to find a way to acquire Kawhi now.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Brian Windhorst, and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com, the “pressure is mounting” for the Lakers to pull off a trade with the Spurs for Leonard, with “a race” to bring Leonard aboard before James is faced with deciding whether to become a free agent on Friday.
The Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers and LA Clippers are among teams who have made offers to the Spurs for Leonard, league sources said. The Lakers, the franchise Leonard wants to be traded to, did not have an encouraging initial conversation with the Spurs, ESPN reported recently.Signing in Los Angeles without Leonard or Paul George would be a wasted 2018-19 season for King James, while even if Leonard does get traded to Philadelphia, there are lingering questions about his health and whether he’d be willing to sign on long-term.
Although the Lakers came away feeling like San Antonio “shut the door on us” and the conversation never progressed or included a formal trade offer, the Spurs haven’t ruled out sending Leonard to any destination, league sources said.
If Leonard can convince the rest of the teams interested in trading for him that he’ll only be a one-year rental before signing with Los Angeles in 2019, the Lakers could have the most compelling trade package to offer San Antonio.
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