The San Antonio Spurs know they’re facing an uphill battle when it comes to keeping Kawhi Leonard long-term.
But the team also understands they have time on their side and a whole year to convince Leonard to stay.
As a result, they’re playing some serious hardball with the Lakers, who badly want Kawhi after missing out on Paul George.
According to NBA salary cap expert Larry Coon, San Antonio is asking for Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, two first round picks and two pick swaps.
“They’re just saying give us everything,” Coon said during an appearance on Spectrum Sportsnet.
NBA salary cap expert @LarryCoon was on tonight's show to break down the #Lakers' cap space flexibility following today's moves. pic.twitter.com/GTB1fYdQrk
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) July 3, 2018
And while San Antonio isn’t rushing into anything unless the Lakers cave to their excessive demands, LA also has reason to believe that time is on their side.
It’s been widely reported that Leonard’s desire to play for the Lakers is very strong, and instead of gutting their team to get him, LA could simply wait for him to come over as a free agent next summer.
But considering that was their plan with Paul George, you could forgive them for being in two minds on this one.
Let the mind games continue.
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