The situation between the San Antonio Spurs and Kawhi Leonard has been a troubling enigma, to say the least. It has not gotten better as Leonard has played, in a Spurs uniform, for only nine games this season since recovering from the injury to his quad. After being cleared to come back a while ago by the organization, he still has not returned to action citing that it is still not the right time.

The actions of the superstar, to me, show that he no longer wants to be a member of the Spurs organization, the team he has played his whole career with.

The relationship seems damaged and out of repair with Leonard seeking guidance from his own trainers on the injury. There is an abundance of teams that will want Leonard due to the kind of player that he is when healthy.

Many options

But first, there are obviously many clubs that will pursue Leonard. The New York Knicks need another superstar other than Kristaps Porzingis to reach the playoffs and Kawhi would be playing in a big market in one of the greatest cities in the world, in one of the best arena's to play in. The Knicks could offer the Spurs Frank Ntilikina, who has shown promise this season along with other players and a draft pick. The city of New York and Knicks fans would love to have Leonard and end a playoff drought and compete for the championships.

The Boston Celtics are also an ideal trade partner too as they can offer the young talent they have in Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and other pieces, but it would be difficult. The team would be at the top of the East and possibly acquire a championship with Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, and Gordon Hayward. It would be equally interesting to see Kawhi Leonard play for the Oklahoma City Thunder, or the Miami Heat.

The Heat could use a star since the departure of James years ago and they are still a terrific team led by a great coach. The possibility of him being traded to an Eastern Conference team is plausible.

Superstar talent

When the star first entered the league, he was not efficient offensively. The 6'7 forward averaged 7.9 points per game for the Spurs back in 2011-12, to last year averaging 25.5 points per game, to this season for a low 16.2.

Go forward years later and today, he is a highly efficient offensive weapon, having worked on his game throughout the years and the statistics prove it. And it has not affected his play on the other side as he is one of the best defensive players in the league.

In my opinion, Kawhi Leonard is the second best player in the league or at least third, behind Lebron James. His production on both sides of the floor speaks for itself and his intelligence for the game is impressive and he thrives in the Spurs system. I believe that with what he brings to the table, he would be great on almost any team for the most part.

The one team

The one team that "The Claw" should go to is the Los Angeles Lakers.

This franchise is on the rise with players like point guard Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, and Brandon Ingram. This season they made sure to clear a lot of cap space to sign players over this offseason and the organization can throw good money towards Leonard and other players. If I was "Magic" Johnson I would greatly be trying to acquire Leonard in the offseason, LeBron James, or Paul George, who has expressed great interest in going back to play for his hometown. And not only this, Kawhi would be playing where he was born, in sunny beautiful L.A. He would also be in a better market and be making more money with endorsements there than in San Antonio.

The Spurs are a world-class organization in the NBA, but it is clear that Kawhi Leonard wants out of the franchise.

They seemed to have misdiagnosed his injury and made it worse for him. There has been a lot of drama inflicted on the team with this situation, something we are not used to seeing from the team.

As much as I hate to say it, Leonard will most likely be in a new uniform next season. It seems to me that the Spurs and Leonard have not been on the same page this season and it also seems that he does not want to risk his body or money to try and come back for the playoffs. He has every right to be frustrated and want to leave with what has transpired. The damage has been done and it could be the end of Gregg Popovich and Kawhi Leonard. And if I was Kawhi, I would be looking to go to sunny Los Angeles and ball for the Lakers.
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