NBA Trade Rumors: Spurs, Raptors Seriously Discussing Trade Involving Kawhi Leonard And DeMar DeRozan

Matthew Moreno
4 Min Read
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

With the Las Vegas Summer League now wrapped up and NBA free agency largely at a crawl, the biggest storyline until training camps across the league open is the ongoing saga between Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs.

Leonard is coming off a season in which he appeared in just nine games due to a mysterious quadriceps injury that he seemingly never truly recovered from. It became the source of some friction between Leonard and the Spurs as he left the team to continue with the rehab process.

San Antonio doctors cleared Leonard to return but he didn’t feel healthy enough to continue playing, which led to critical remarks from those within the organization. In turn, that reportedly pushed Leonard to requesting a trade.

It’s believed Leonard’s preference is being sent to the Los Angeles Lakers, which has created a situation similar to what Paul George and the Indiana Pacers faced last summer.

While the Lakers have been among the teams to engage the Spurs in trade talks, those conversations were recently said to have largely fallen off. Now, the Spurs and Toronto Raptors are discussing a trade involving Leonard and DeMar DeRozan, per Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports:

An oddsmaker curiously vaulted the Raptors up the list of favorites to trade for Leonard, but the likelihood of a potential deal coming to fruition was largely dismissed.

That Toronto is exploring parting with a franchise cornerstone in DeRozan doesn’t come as much of a surprise. A report in May suggested the Raptors would look to move DeRozan or Kyle Lowry this offseason.

The duo have led the most successful stretch in franchise history but it’s also been a period that’s seen multiple flameouts in the playoffs. Most notably this year, when the Raptors earned the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time.

If Toronto does move ahead with a trade for Leonard, they run the risk of breaking up their roster for what could amount to nothing more than a one-year rental. Though, the same was though of George, and he re-signed with Oklahoma City.

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Matthew Moreno is a journalist from Whittier, Calif., who is a credentialed reporter and is currently the Managing Editor of DodgerBlue.com and LakersNation.com. In addition to covering Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angels Lakers games, Matthew has a strong passion for keeping up to date with the sneakerhead culture. It began with Michael Jordan and Air Jordan shoes, and has carried over to Kobe Bryant's signature line with Nike. Matthew previously was the lead editor and digital strategist at Dodgers Nation, and the co-editor and lead writer at Reign of Troy, where he covered USC Trojans Football. Matthew graduated from California State Long Beach University with a major in journalism and minor in communications. Contact: matt@mediumlargela.com