Kawhi Leonard has made it clear that he wants out of San Antonio and has demanded that the Spurs trade him. Recent betting odds have revealed that the Toronto Raptors were becoming the odds-on favorites to land Kawhi in a trade with the Spurs. Bleacher Report originally reported that Oddshark had listed the Raptors as even odds to land Leonard's services, which would make them an immediate top contender in the Eastern Conference. However, FS1 reported on their First Take that those odds were inflated and are not based on facts at all.

Kawhi's camp denies everything

When it comes to where Kawhi Leonard plays in the 2018-19 NBA season, his camp said that the Toronto Raptors are not in the picture. Not only that, but his camp still said that Leonard only wants to play for the Los Angeles Lakers. They also said that Leonard does not want the San Antonio Spurs to trade him to any team to be a one-year rental.

This makes it tough on the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs wants some valuable players and two first-round picks in return for Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Lakers are not interested in losing that in a trade. If the Lakers don't want to give up so many valuable assets, they won't trade for Kawhi now.

This also hurts Kawhi Leonard.

If Leonard is demanding a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Spurs won't accept anything less than what they already announced that they want, Leonard moving to Los Angeles would hurt the Lakers despite giving them a true superstar to team with LeBron James.

This means that the San Antonio Spurs might not be able to unload Kawhi Leonard at all and he will be stuck there for another year.

What this means for San Antonio

The San Antonio Spurs have a disgruntled player on their hands. He is also one of the best players in the NBA and the Spurs don't have to trade him at all this year. Of course, if they don't trade him and hold onto him for the season, they will not get anything in return when he leaves.

Another problem is that Kawhi Leonard refused to play last season, claiming his injury was worse than the San Antonio Spurs believed it to be and refusing to rehab it with the team's staff. If Leonard is not traded and comes back, what is to keep him from playing again this year?

This also hurts Kawhi. If the Los Angeles Lakers want a star player that wants to win, why sign a player who refuses to play when he is disgruntled? The Spurs have to figure this out and until they do, the Kawhi Leonard situation is likely to worsen.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED