Kawhi Leonard might be hours away from officially becoming the new face of the Toronto Raptors. According to ESPN's Chris Haynes and Adrian Wojnarowski, the San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors are in serious talks to exchange superstars. A deal would be close, according to these reports.
At the heart of the Raptors compelling offer would be All-Star DeMar DeRozan, who had signed a five-year extension with the Raptors only two years ago and had to live with recent rumors of Raptors' willingness to find him a new team after yet another humiliating sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs.
DeRozan would join forces with LaMarcus Aldridge in San Antonio, and Kawhi Leonard would head to 'The North' to play alongside Kyle Lowry and company. According to these same reports, neither player is showing enthusiasm in reaction to what looks like will be imminent news about their future.
Kawhi Leonard wants out
ESPN had previously reported that Kawhi had made up his mind to leave the San Antonio after having lost trust in the Spurs organization and its head coach Gregg Popovich. What was also highlighted was that Leonard's preferred destination was Los Angeles, with the Lakers having the slight edge over the Clippers in his mind. With one year left in his contract, the Spurs have been forced to listen to calls for their superstar in order to get substantial value in return, instead of nothing a year from now.
However, given Leonard's wishes, few teams seemed willing to take the gamble of trading for Leonard and attempting to convince him to stay past next season. Furthermore, it was looking like the Spurs could only hope to receive packages that included young emerging talents and several draft picks. The Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angles Clippers, and Los Angeles Lakers had shown great interest, but it looks like neither of these teams has been willing to part ways with some of its promising pieces.
Raptors all in for Leonard
The Raptors, with the talented president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri at the head, have emerged out of nowhere and offered the Spurs something that they had not been offered before, an established star in the league.
DeRozan, 28 years of age, has proven he is an All-Star caliber player, but he has been unable to lead the Raptors far enough in the playoffs.
Leonard, 27, is an All-NBA player, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, and an NBA Finals MVP. He is clearly still regarded as one of the best players in the league if healthy, but he would be coming off a season full of doubts because of the mysterious quad injury that allowed him to play only nine games.
The Raptors will have to hope he can play more than that next season and that they can build a highly competitive team around him. After all, the East awaits a new king following LeBron James's departure. Will The Klaw accept that challenge?
