The San Antonio Spurs have apparently resumed trade talks with the Los Angeles Lakers about Kawhi Leonard. However, the Texans have high demands – and the Lakers are under time pressure.
This is reported by ESPN. Already on Wednesday it was said that both franchises were talking about a trade by Leonard – but the negotiations are said not to have been promising. Now, however, the parties seem to have resumed talks.
The Lakers are under time pressure: at best, they want to close a deal before Friday. Then the deadline is for LeBron James, who has to decide if he wants to play with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the coming season or if he wants to become Unrestricted Free Agent.
That’s relevant because LeBron is associated with the Lakers. He doesn’t want to be the first star to sign in L.A., though. If Leonard were brought in by trade first, this would increase the Lakers chances of a commitment from James.
The Spurs, on the other hand, have less pressure. ESPN reports that they have not yet given up on Leonard and will continue to try to repair the relationship with him. On the other hand, if it does come to a trade, they charge a considerable price. There are no concrete names, but it is said that the Spurs demand significantly more value than was recently the case with star trades from Paul George (from Indiana to OKC) and Kyrie Irving (from Cleveland to Boston).