The sensation brought about by Cousins joining the Warriors has not passed for a few days, but new news happened in the league.
Spurs star Kawhi Leonard has completely broken up with the Spurs management. There is no room for relaxation between the two parties. Leonard even refused to have any contact with the Spurs management and demanded that the team trade him immediately.
Once this news was exposed, it immediately attracted widespread attention from all teams in the league.
In fact, the conflict between Leonard and the Spurs has begun to show up as early as the middle of the season. However, Leonard, as a season-retired player, has not played in a game, and people's channels for obtaining information are also very limited.
In mid-June, after the NBA Finals, the two sides actually communicated briefly, and Leonard and Popovich did not reach an agreement during the phone conversation.
Until this time, not many people in the league thought that Leonard would really leave the Spurs. They felt that this was just a coercive act by Leonard's management team to increase Leonard's bargaining chip with the Spurs.
No one expected that in just half a month, the conflict between Leonard and the Spurs would have become so acute that it was completely irreconcilable. The star that Popovich trained would actually hate the Spurs to such an extent.
The Spurs tried hard to no avail, and finally chose to compromise and put Leonard on the shelf.
After the news was announced, the most excited person was undoubtedly the Lakers management.
"What an opportunity! We must capture Leonard! No matter what the cost!"
Leonard had clearly expressed his interest in the Los Angeles team in previous interviews. Although he did not say whether he was interested in the Lakers or the Clippers, in the eyes of the Lakers management, the Clippers
Why should the boat compete with them, the league's traditional giant and the most popular team?
Moreover, Leonard is not a free agent. If you want to get him, you have to pay a price. The Lakers obviously have much more chips than the Clippers.
The Lakers management immediately held an emergency meeting and finalized a series of trade plans with the Spurs. The transaction even included all players on the Lakers team except Wang Feng.
Wang Feng really wanted to tell Magic Johnson, don't bother, you won't get Leonard.
Not to mention what chips the Lakers need to pay to match DeRozan from the Menglong. As competitors for many years, the Spurs do not want their old rivals the Lakers to come over and pluck the peaches they have worked so hard to cultivate.
The Mongolian Dragons are an Eastern Conference team. No matter how strong they become in the new season, it doesn't matter to the Spurs. However, the Lakers are different. They are both Western Conference teams and have a direct competitive relationship. The stronger the Lakers become, the more important they become to the Spurs.
It will become more difficult for the Spurs to survive in the regular season.
But the Lakers management obviously doesn't think so, or even if they know it, they still want to give it a try. What if it really works?
Kawhi Leonard, on the other hand, really seriously asked his agent team to accept all interested teams and ask them one by one about the privileges they could provide Leonard, both on and off the court.
Leonard or his agent team knows his value very well, and they also know how many teams are willing to pay any price to get him.
This is a good opportunity for Leonard to wait for a price and choose a team that can provide him with the greatest convenience.
A few days later, the results appeared.
With Leonard's consent, the Spurs traded him and Danny Green to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for All-Star shooting guard Jamal DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and
A protected first-round pick.
As for the Lakers' offer of Lonzo Ball + Kuzma and a first-round pick, they wanted to get Leonard, but the Spurs naturally rejected it and instead asked for Ball + Ingram + Kuzma.
conditions.
All of a sudden, the three youngest and most promising players on the team were traded away for Leonard. Even though the Lakers were so excited, they couldn't help but hesitate.
If Leonard makes it clear that he is willing to play for the Lakers and renew his long-term contract in advance, the Lakers will definitely not hesitate.
There has never been a shortage of talented players in the NBA, but it is not that simple to completely convert talent into strength. You will definitely not lose money by exchanging three potential rookies for one of the league's top superstars with mature styles.
But the problem is that Leonard's current attitude is ambiguous, and his contract is only for one year. If Leonard doesn't plan to stay with the Lakers next year and leaves at the end of the season, wouldn't the Lakers lose everything?
In fact, this risk also applies to the Menglong team.
Leonard has not promised anything to the Menglong, but the Menglong team management, which has been suppressed by James for many years in the Eastern Conference, has completely lost patience with DeRozan, and they want to give it a try.
In another time and space, they made the right bet.
Leonard really helped the Menglong pass all the way in the Eastern Conference and reach the finals, and killed the remaining Warriors to win the 18-19 season championship.
After that, Leonard faced the Menglong's warm invitation to stay and switched to the Los Angeles Clippers without hesitation. However, exchanging DeRozan for the first championship trophy in team history, even from the perspective of an onlooker like Wang Feng,
It was also profitable.
Just assume that if the Menglong team fails to win this championship, then after the end of the season, they lose Leonard, DeRozan, and even a first-round pick. That would be true.
Very miserable.
This is what the Lakers are afraid of, so they dare not really release all three potential rookie players, which will cause Leonard to travel east to the Dragons.
Paul's contract was renewed, and Leonard was traded to the Denver Clippers, which disappointed fans who had been looking forward to the Lakers making a big move in the summer and getting a top superstar to partner with Wang Feng.
"What on earth are the Lakers' management doing? They are slow to act and hesitant. In the past few days since the free market started, they have achieved almost nothing except signing a few corner role players. At present, the league's still capable stars have already
There are very few, and they must seize the last chance!"
However, the fact is that there are no big fish left in the free market.
James' attitude was ambiguous, but due to Wang Feng's firm attitude, he was passed by the Lakers. During this period, other star players basically completed their contract renewals with their respective teams.
In desperation, the Lakers finally followed Wang Feng's wishes and launched Plan B, actively contacting the Timberwolves to discuss Jimmy Butler's trade plan.
However, negotiations with the Timberwolves still failed to succeed.
The Timberwolves didn't say Butler was not for sale, but they made a request for Lonzo Ball, Ingram and a first-round pick.