Where is Kawhi Leonard going to end up?

[Patty Ice]

Lol, good luck with that. You're not getting both Ingram and Kuzma.

What is this nonsense of Boston offering Kyrie of Kawhi? They have 3!!starting small forwards with Brown, Taytum and and the return of superstar Hayward. They'll have a massive hole at the 1 position if Kyrie leaves.

What is laughable is that you think they won't get both of those players. This is a top 5 (some argue 3) player in the NBA. Spurs are in the driver seat here and its been widely reported the Lakers preparing a Godfather offer. You have to view this as a deal for Leonard AND James.

 

[Jack Straw]

Lol, good luck with that. You're not getting both Ingram and Kuzma.

What is this nonsense of Boston offering Kyrie of Kawhi? They have 3!!starting small forwards with Brown, Taytum and and the return of superstar Hayward. They'll have a massive hole at the 1 position if Kyrie leaves.

Kyrie is in the same situation as Kawhi, he's not signed past next year. If the Celtics feel they don't have a good chance to re-sign him then why not sign Kawhi. I don't think it will happen because I think they believe they can re-sign Kyrie. But it makes some sense.

 

[Dominator13]

Kyrie is in the same situation as Kawhi, he's not signed past next year. If the Celtics feel they don't have a good chance to re-sign him then why not sign Kawhi. I don't think it will happen because I think they believe they can re-sign Kyrie. But it makes some sense.

Kawhi is not a need though. It just feels like Boston is in it just to be in it. They made their big splash with Hayward already.

 

[Terry Yake]

i'm kind of just hoping the lakers can land LBJ and PG and call it a day

keep the young core intact. spurs are no doubt going to want kuzma and ingram and trading them both away would be a mistake in my opinion

 

[dahrougem2]

i'm kind of just hoping the lakers can land LBJ and PG and call it a day

keep the young core intact. spurs are no doubt going to want kuzma and ingram and trading them both away would be a mistake in my opinion

If they're being traded for Kawhi Leonard, that's a win every day of the week. This is a top-5 player in the league at 26 years of age we're talking about here.

Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma both have potential and are young, but there's no indication either of them will become stars in this league. Same goes for Lonzo Ball. If you have the opportunity to get a legitimate superstar by jettisoning those kids, you do it.

 

[Terry Yake]

kuzma is really going to be something special though

i'd hate to see ingram go but if they have to part with one of them i'd much prefer it to be ingram

spurs have no interest in lonzo from what i've heard

 

[dahrougem2]

kuzma is really going to be something special though

i'd hate to see ingram go but if they have to part with one of them i'd much prefer it to be ingram

spurs have no interest in lonzo from what i've heard

I don't know if Kuzma is going to be something special. We've seen rookies over the years lead teams filled with role players to at least compete for playoff spots and those rookies go on to be stars. The Lakers were nowhere near a playoff spot this year. Sure, Kuzma/Ingram/Lonzo have some upside but nothing near the type of player Kawhi is.

 

[Voight]

Lol, good luck with that. You're not getting both Ingram and Kuzma.

What is this nonsense of Boston offering Kyrie of Kawhi? They have 3!!starting small forwards with Brown, Taytum and and the return of superstar Hayward. They'll have a massive hole at the 1 position if Kyrie leaves.

Both players are injury prone but at least Kawhi is a better player. They can always put Brown or Kawhi at SG, try Tatum at PF.

What is laughable is that you think they won't get both of those players. This is a top 5 (some argue 3) player in the NBA. Spurs are in the driver seat here and its been widely reported the Lakers preparing a Godfather offer. You have to view this as a deal for Leonard AND James.

No you don't. Its already been reported that his decision isn't based on whether they get Leonard or PG.

People need to realize - this Time its a business decision as much as it is a basketball decision. In 2010, he wanted/needed a ring, in 2014, he felt he needed to give his hometown a championship. In part 3 of his career its about winning yes but its also about him growing his business empire and doing more than just basketball.

 

[Power Man]

 

[Halladay]

Ingram is not a very good player right now. Yes he is 20 years old but he is so far behind other players in his draft and the year before and after. His advanced stats are terrible.

 

[Terry Yake]

Ingram is not a very good player right now. Yes he is 20 years old but he is so far behind other players in his draft and the year before and after. His advanced stats are terrible.

someone didn't watch lakers games last season

ingram progressed quite nicely last year from his rookie season in every part of his game. i expect the same this coming season

he's fine, just needs to bulk up a bit. and he's only 20

 

[Halladay]

someone didn't watch lakers games last season

ingram progressed quite nicely last year from his rookie season in every part of his game. i expect the same this coming season

he's fine, just needs to bulk up a bit. and he's only 20

Ive seen enough of their games. If the Spurs take him as the centerpiece, they are suckers. But yes, he is too skinny. Him getting stronger should help him out, especially on the defensive end,

 

[dahrougem2]

I've never really latched onto Brandon Ingram. He seems like a guy that's always going to leave you wanting more, but never going to provide it.

 

[Voight]

LOL do they think Billy King is running the Lakers or something?

Magic is better off waiting till next summer. At worst, Leonard signs with whatever team hes traded to - its LA and you have LeBron, one way or another you'll get another star or two.

 

[dahrougem2]

The Spurs are going to look so bad coming out of this when they get a garbage return from some team not named LA Lakers, or when Kawhi walks after they fail to trade him and continue hoping to mend the relationship.

 

[Avs_19]

I think Ingram's going to be very good and is probably the best piece the Spurs could hope for from the rumoured interested teams. I'd rather have him than Lonzo, Kuzma, Fultz, Saric, J. Brown, etc.

 

[dahrougem2]

I think Ingram's going to be very good and is probably the best piece the Spurs could hope for from the rumoured interested teams. I'd rather have him than Lonzo, Kuzma, Fultz, Saric, J. Brown, etc.

I would take Fultz over Ingram because I still believe in him being the player that made him the 1st overall pick.

I guess I'm just not enamored with Ingram. He's still young so things could change, but he leaves me wanting so much more whenever I watch Lakers games. For a guy that's been compared to Kevin Durant stylistically, he sure doesn't look to score in the same way.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

LOL do they think Billy King is running the Lakers or something?

Magic is better off waiting till next summer. At worst, Leonard signs with whatever team hes traded to - its LA and you have LeBron, one way or another you'll get another star or two.

Yeah... and I wanna bang Scarlett Johansson for the rest of my life. Neither will happen.

Spurs are smart to ask for the moon though.

 

[dahrougem2]

Yeah... and I wanna bang Scarlett Johansson for the rest of my life. Neither will happen.

Spurs are smart to ask for the moon though.

Are they, though? Magic very well could be sitting there telling the Spurs he'll just sit on his hands, let Kawhi walk to him next summer, and the Spurs don't get a single asset in return for him based on the absurd asking price.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Are they, though? Magic very well could be sitting there telling the Spurs he'll just sit on his hands, let Kawhi walk to him next summer, and the Spurs don't get a single asset in return for him based on the absurd asking price.

Magic sat on his hands with PG and he lost him.

Kawhi might very well be using the Lakers to put pressure on the Spurs. The guy wants out of San Antonio and uses the Lakers as leverage. Maybe he gets traded to Philly or Boston and signs there. It is a gamble for Magic. Spurs have a prime asset, they should ask for what he is worth.

I see it as a game of chicken between the Spurs, the Lakers and Kawhi. In the end, Kawhi will be the only real winner, I think.

 

[dahrougem2]

Magic sat on his hands with PG and he lost him.

Kawhi might very well be using the Lakers to put pressure on the Spurs. The guy wants out of San Antonio and uses the Lakers as leverage. Maybe he gets traded to Philly or Boston and signs there. It is a gamble for Magic. Spurs have a prime asset, they should ask for what he is worth.

I see it as a game of chicken between the Spurs, the Lakers and Kawhi. In the end, Kawhi will be the only real winner, I think.

You can use the PG analogy, but I can also use the Boston Celtics/Gordon Hayward analogy. Pretty much everyone knew that Hayward was either re-signing in Utah or going to Boston for Brad Stevens. The Celtics didn't bother making that trade because they felt strongly enough they could just sign him in free agency. Obviously not 100% exact same situations, but very similar.

I don't even think PG reports were this public about him wanting to be in Los Angeles. Kawhi seems hell bent on going there.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

You can use the PG analogy, but I can also use the Boston Celtics/Gordon Hayward analogy. Pretty much everyone knew that Hayward was either re-signing in Utah or going to Boston for Brad Stevens. The Celtics didn't bother making that trade because they felt strongly enough they could just sign him in free agency. Obviously not 100% exact same situations, but very similar.

I don't even think PG reports were this public about him wanting to be in Los Angeles. Kawhi seems hell bent on going there.

Let's say you are right (and you very well could be; remains a gamble for the Lakers, but a gamble they very well could win).

The Lakers still have the pressure of making this trade ASAP. Lebron is no spring chicken and they don't know how long he will still be THE best. Sure, logically, it should be 2-3 more years, but who knows. If they want to win with Lebron, they need Kawhi.

Kawhi wants to go to LA and LA only, that gives the Lakers leverage.

Lakers have to make that trade to contend, that gives the Spurs leverage. That being said, even with Leonard, they likely won't win in 2018. Time for the team to gel, some of the young guys to gain experience, etc. So the Spurs' leverage isn't that great.

Spurs risk losing him for nothing, that gives Kawhi (and the Lakers if he REALLY only wants to go there meaning other teams won't be willing to make great offers for one year of KL) leverage.

As I said earlier, the only real winner in this situation in Kawhi himself. He holds the Spurs by the balls. Either they lose him for nothing, trade him for a less-than-ideal return to another team or have to comprimise with the Lakers. They are smart to gamble that Magic will panic and offer them the moon (as I said, he KNOWS he needs Kawhi to contend).

Very interesting situation.

 

[Voight]

Ingram + Hart + one or two firsts is fair for a guy who allegedly will do whatever he can to end up a Laker.

This is going to end up like Kyrie last summer - team realizes its in a. corner and just gets what they can get. He's healthy as far as we know so he can't pull a Kyrie and threaten them with surgery but do the Spurs really wanna run their plays around a guy who has 0 desire to be there? Someone who's own teammates probably can't stand him now.

 

[Terry Yake]

hahahahahaha magic and rob hung up immediately on that offer

let them deal kawhi to some EC team for pennies and then sign him next offseason. hopefully he doesn't start a bromance with one of his new teammates there

 

[Avs_19]

Zach goes through a bunch of teams in that article. Some good analysis of Ingram and why the Lakers shouldn't trade him as well.