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IS IT TIME TO SAY BYE TO KAWHI? 5 POSSIBLE TRADES FOR KAWHI LEONARD.

This season has been a roller coaster ride for the Spurs and Kawhi Leonard to say the least. Being cleared and playing 9 games to not being cleared and missing the rest of the season. The passing of Greg Popovich's late wife Erin Popovich. Possibly the last season of Manu Ginobili, the Spurs have been dealing with issues that we usually don't see from this franchise. The franchise that everyone in the league tries to mimic, the consistency they've shown for almost 20 seasons, this is uncharted territory for the Spurs. Regardless of what the media is saying, no one knows what is really going on between Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs. One thing is obvious, there is definitely something going on. Moving forward if this is the end for Kawhi Leonard as a Spur it's time to look at possibly trading him. Trading Kawhi would not be the ideal position for the Spurs, but it may be the only option. I came up with 5 possible trade scenarios that would leave the Spurs in a nice position next year as well as the future.

SCENARIO 1: The most likely trade destination for Kawhi would be with the Lakers as the rumors have been made that Kawhi would like to land in LA. This trade package would also include the Lakers 2019 first round pick. This would give the Spurs two young wings in Ingram and Kuzma that have shown the ability to be 20 point scorers in this league and the opportunity for Pop to mold them into complete players. The addition of Josh Hart would give the Spurs a potential 3 and D player and add depth to their bench. Frye just makes the salaries work. Lakers would get their star and still have the possibility of singing Lebron James or Paul George. Both teams win in this situation. Lakers-Spurs Scenario 2: The Boston Celtics may have the most assets to pull off a trade for Kawhi. Of course these scenarios rely on Kawhi committing to resigning. I would be hesitant in giving up Tatum or Brown, but the potential of having a starting lineup of Kyrie, Tatum, Hayward, Kawhi, and Horford would be scary. The Spurs would ask for the Celtics 2019 first round pick, but knowing Danny Ainge, that may be hard to get from them. Regardless, this would give Pop another young two way wing in Jaylen Brown that he can develop into potentially another version of Kawhi Leonard. With Parker aging, Rozier would be a perfect replacement for him. Morris would provide depth and scoring for the Spurs that they would desperetly need after moving Kawhi and Baynes has played for the Spurs and would be a defensive anchor off the bench or potentially as a starter next to Aldridge. Celtics-Spurs Scenario 3: The Blazers came into the playoffs after having such a successful regular season. I don't think anyone saw what was coming for the Blazers in the playoffs. The Pelicans absolutely dismantled the Blazers in a clean sweep and it wasn't close. The Blazers may look to break up the backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCullum. As good as they are offensively, they struggle stopping anyone defensively. Getting Kawhi Leonard would not only give them another elite offensive player, but an elite defensive wing which they desperately need. The Spurs would get the Blazers 2018 first round pick, along with an elite offensive player in CJ McCllum to fill the scoring void Kawhi would leave. Harkless can provide a nice 3 and D threat and Zach Collins is a young promising big Pop could develop. The Blazers would have two stars in Lillard and Kawhi along with Nurkic if the Blazers plan to resign him. They could get right back into the playoff mix with the addition of Kawhi. Blazers-Spurs Scenario 4: Going along with the rumors that Kawhi wants to land in LA, the Clippers may be able to put together a nice package for Kawhi. The Clippers will have two lottery picks in this years up coming draft. Tobias Harris is only 25 years old and he's coming off a year where he averaged 19 points and 6 rebounds a game on 47% shooting. He's a more than capable offensive scorer and in the Spurs system expect him to be even better. Deandre Jordan would turn into a defensive monster under Pop. A potential starting lineup of Dejounte Murray, Danny Green, Tobias Harris, Lamarcus Aldridge, and Deandre Jordan would be more than enough to get the Spurs back in the mix for one of top 4 seeds in the West. The Clippers would get their star in Kawhi, but would need to make many moves to become a playoff contender. Clippers-Spurs Scenario 5: The Suns are in rebuild mode. With the potential of getting the first pick in the draft and most likely drafting DeAndre Ayton, would they be willing to give up young assets for Kawhi Leonard? They could package the first round pick, Josh Jackson, and Dragen Bender for Kawhi Leonard. I would be so excited to see what Pop would do with Josh Jackson and potentially DeAndre Ayton. I don't see this happening because Kawhi Leonard wouldn't make the Suns a contender, but the potential of having Devin Booker and Kawhi would be interesting. The Spurs would get a potential superstar in DeAndre Ayton and Josh Jackson who showed major Offensive improvement after the all star break. The Spurs would essentially still compete for a playoff spot as they have shown to win games without Kawhi, but add three young pieces for the future. Personally, I don't think the Suns would give up the opportunity of getting Ayton, but with the Suns recent play the past few years they might consider it if it means getting a potential top five player in the league to pair up with Booker. new suns-spurs

Let me know what you guys think would be the best trade scenario for Kawhi Leonard. Follow me on twitter @RayjonNBA. Follow my podcast on Apple podcasts "Ball Diary"

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