It's Officially Kawhi Leonard Trade Rumor Season But Are Any Legit?

Kawhi Leonard is one of the biggest names in the game. That said, he had one of the more bizarre seasons we’ve seen. We all know the story now with Leonard being injured, coming back, getting injured again only to end up not traveling with the team and questions coming up about whether he could play or not.

Now, it’s officially Kawhi Leonard rumor season. A report surfaced today from Woj that the Celtics offered a trade for Leonard at the deadline only to be denied and then the Spurs never counteroffering. That’s going to be the common theme here until Leonard resigns or becomes a free agent after next season. You’re going to hear about teams calling San Antonio only to get denied the trade.

For the Celtics it made sense because they felt like they could compete this year. The question is what did they offer to San Antonio? You’d assume they would have had to offer at least one of Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown along with some other pieces and possibly a draft pick or two. For San Antonio that seems like something they would take, but this is the Spurs we’re talking about. More importantly this is the Spurs and Kawhi Leonard – a top-5 player when healthy we’re talking about.

Now as for what will likely happen? Well, more reports are coming out by the day that the Spurs and Leonard are getting closer and closer to mending whatever broken relationship there was. Pop wants Leonard on the team. Let’s also remember there’s a chance that the Spurs could get LeBron – granted it’s a longshot, but that only happens with Kawhi on the roster.

Remember, we’ve seen Pop mend a relationship last year too. LaMarcus Aldrdige came to San Antonio as a top free agent and a guy who was seen as a top-15/20 player in the league. He struggled his first year in San Antonio adjusting to the Spurs style and not being seen as ‘the guy’ anymore. He met with Pop during the offseason, had a talk and was back to being an All-Star this past season.

One last thing to talk about when you hear these trade rumors. Let’s think about the teams and what they can realistically offer. Sure, every team would love Kawhi, but how many can actually made the trade work? We’ve heard the Clippers would try and trade for him – they have two top-13 picks this season that can be part of the trade. Philly has been rumored for him – that’s a team that has assets. Boston obviously has assets. But, who else? That’s the one thing to always keep in mind when hearing trade rumors.