The San Antonio Spurs said publicly last week that they want to work things out with Kawhi Leonard and sign him to a long-term extension, but that may have been more about trade strategy than anything else.
Marc Stein of the New York Times reported on Thursday that the Spurs are “ready” to move on from Leonard.
This doesn't guarantee Kawhi Leonard is going to the Lakers this week — since San Antonio could always trade him elsewhere and/or drag things out — but league sources say of the Spurs: "They're ready" to move on from Kawhi
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 28, 2018
If Leonard does not want to be in San Antonio and has no intention of signing an extension after the season, it makes no sense for the Spurs to hang onto him. The unfortunate thing for them is Leonard can basically destroy his own trade value by telling certain interested teams that he has no intention of signing a long-term extension with them. That puts San Antonio in a very difficult position.
While there has been talk that the Spurs would rather take less from another team than trade Leonard to the Lakers, they may not have a choice. The initial attempts from L.A. to contact the Spurs reportedly did not go well, but it doesn’t seem like San Antonio has many options.
