The Lakers Are Moving Towards A Disastrous Kawhi Leonard Trade

The Lakers need to stop whatever it is they think they are doing with the Spurs, Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James and stick with the plan.

The latest rumors make it seem as though the Lakers are all in on acquiring Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs. (Photo by Matteo Marchi/Getty Images)

Consider this: the era of the classic big three is over. Sure, the Boston Celtics trio of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett proved you could win it all with superstar power and a splash of role player performance.

James’ own Miami Heatles experiment worked out as well. But it’s clear that you need to do a lot more than sign two or three all-star players to garner an instant title.

The Golden State Warriors showed exactly what it takes to build a dynasty in this era of big contracts and dangerous salary cap penalties.

I won’t sit here and say that the Lakers will turn into the Warriors redux in a few years, but you have to admit what they have going for them is promising.

And if some of the recent rumors are to be believed, the Lakers are willing to blow most of it all up for a player who may or may not be at 100% health by the time the season rolls around.

I am of course referring to Kawhi Leonard, whom the Lakers are reportedly playing one hell of a game of phone tag with the Spurs over.

The Lakers, the same people who were more blasé about the upcoming free agency period than hipsters thumbing through someone else’s Spotify account, are now seemingly throwing all of their assets in on this summer as if it’s a make-or-break scenario.

It’s not.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports the Lakers are now willing to part with Brandon Ingram as part of a package.

While the L.A. Times’ Tania Ganguli states that Ingram had not yet been a part of any discussion, it’s clear the Lakers are itching to make it rain assets and picks for a chance at Kawhi Leonard.

On Wednesday ESPN explained that the kind of package that would woo the Spurs would be “substantial.”

The Lakers could have to surrender a combination of former first-round picks -- from Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart -- and future first-round picks and perhaps restricted free agent Julius Randle in a sign-and-trade agreement.

By Thursday, the Washington Post’s Tim Bontemps reported the Lakers were in talks with the Nuggets about taking on money to acquire a pick that would be flipped in a deal for Leonard.

In an attempt to sweeten the pot, multiple sources said the Lakers and Denver Nuggets are discussing a potential deal that would see Los Angeles take back bad money for a draft pick.

All of this is still without knowing whether James is going to opt out of his contract with the Cavaliers, a decision that would presumably be good for the Lakers.

There is a chance the Lakers do succeed in sending its young squad for a player who missed most of last season due to a beguiling quad injury that is yet to be fully addressed on the court.

It’s one of the reasons the Celtics are uneasy about sending its own young players to San Antonio for Leonard.

Boston's extremely cautious on Leonard front. There's so much uncertainty w/ Leonard's future -- health, free agent desires, etc. Will Leonard be same player? That's hard to tell. Celtics don't have to make a risky trade and have no intention to do so. It's an interesting dance. https://t.co/gVECzgxrYM

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 28, 2018

Sometimes it’s as simple as following what Danny Ainge would do.

Add to that one report that states Leonard’s inclusion on the Lakers roster actually holds no bearing on what LeBron will choose to do about his contract Friday.

Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon states: “Sources close to him told cleveland.com that James' decision to join the Lakers would neither be clinched nor doomed by that franchise's ability to trade for Kawhi Leonard.”

So what do we have? The Lakers may consummate a deal that would net them one of the best players in Leonard and little else on the roster in the immediate aftermath. If he isn’t what he once was that decision would be catastrophic to the franchise, especially if James decides to go another route than L.A. You then have to ask whether a tandem of Leonard and James is enough to compete for a title with whatever cap space the Lakers have remaining or if it's enough to turn a dynamic duo into an L.A. big three.

Without a deal with the Nuggets and without a trade with the Spurs the Lakers still have one of the more promising young rosters in the game and a chance at getting LeBron James anyway, per Vardon’s report.

They would also have the financial flexibility to re-sign budding star Julius Randle or get Paul George after he goes through whatever episode of soul searching he is enjoying at the moment.

From James’ standpoint, the Lakers have the least problematic financial outlook than any franchise he is considering, which means veterans he admires that do want to follow him to Hollywood can do so either this summer or next.

That can’t happen if the Lakers take on salary for Leonard and close that salary cap gap on a hunch that Leonard is the gateway to King James.

It also means the Lakers will sell away the chance to become a deep team that can grow organically into a contender, much like the big, bad defending champions.

Just a couple days ago Magic Johnson made it clear he wouldn’t force anything this summer. Well, if the rumors are to be believed, the entire thing seems forced and rushed.

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