New Report Reveals What Teams Want To See Before Trading For Kawhi Leonard
For a while, it looked like Kawhi Leonard was a lock to be traded this summer. It seemed like it could have already happened by now, but the market for him has stalled.
The main concerns regarding Leonard were always pretty clear. He missed all but nine games last year with a mysterious quad injury and his strange battle with the Spurs has left some wondering what his mentality will be moving forward.
We've mentioned these concerns before, and they've been reported on frequently. Bleacher Report's Ric Bucher broke things down even further in his latest piece.
They say the best ability is availability, and Leonard doesn't have enough of that right now to put teams at ease, Bucher writes.
The first catch, though, is that Leonard’s agent, Mitch Frankel, has no other significant clients and only has been representing Leonard the last couple of years. Hence, he has no established trust with NBA GMs, the kind of trust that allows a team to ask Frankel what its chance would be to keep Leonard long-term and believe whatever he might say is a true reflection of his client’s feelings….
It seems like every other player is putting out a video on social media of them working out,” said the Eastern Conference GM. “If Kawhi did one, he’d instantly get 35,000 hits, and half of them would be from NBA GMs. How can you make a deal or even an offer without knowing if he can play? He’s got to be seen. If he came out and played in preseason and looked good, you’d definitely see teams trying harder to get him.
The Spurs don't have to trade Leonard until training camp, at least. They'd also love to keep him around during the season, but the relationship might be too far gone at this point.
Something is going to have to give though in order for a deal to be made.
