Some Utah Jazz fans might like to see their former All-Star Gordon Hayward dealt from the Boston Celtics for Kawhi Leonard, but it’s far from likely to occur.
Needless to say, the biggest story circling the NBA right now is the news regarding Kawhi Leonard and his desire to be traded out of San Antonio. Considering the odd season he had this past year in which he barely saw the court for the Spurs amid his injury controversy, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him dealt. San Antonio would likely prefer to move forward with beneficial assets rather than continue to deal with the drama of a disgruntled Kawhi.
According to a number of reports, Kawhi’s top destination choice would be the Los Angeles Lakers. However, the Spurs likely won’t be aiming to please and will instead hope to get the best return possible for their frustrated superstar. That may be hard to do considering that Leonard has just one year left on his contract and probably won’t re-sign long term with any team that he’s not interested in, but the Spurs will still look to get as much as they can for him.
And one team that may very well be in the mix to trade for him is the Boston Celtics. The Celtics have plenty of promising assets, are close to title contention as it is and always seem to be aggressive in trades with Danny Ainge calling the shots. Adding Leonard to their fold could very well help put them over the hump and help them reach their championship aspirations.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski also reported that the idea of the Celtics targeting him isn’t just a supposition, it’s a reality. Per the tweet below, Boston will indeed look into what they’d have to do in order to get the deal done.
If Kawhi Leonard does become available in trade talks, the Boston Celtics will be interested in probing the Spurs about a deal, league sources tell ESPN. Boston inquired about a trade prior to the February deadline, sources said.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 15, 2018
However, the question that will certainly arise is what could they trade to pry him away from the Spurs that both teams could agree to? Of course, some Utah Jazz fans, principally the petty ones, would love nothing more than to see their former All-Star Gordon Hayward swiftly dealt from the team that he chose to spurn the Jazz for.
In some minor ways, making such a swap would make sense. Hayward and Leonard play principally the same position, but the Celtics would be getting an upgrade whereas the Spurs would be receiving a solid player in return with ample time left on his contract.
Such a move would likely appease Utah Jazz fans seeking poetic justice for Hayward’s decision to burn the Jazz, but the reality is that it’s almost certainly not going to happen. There are simply too many obstacles that would prevent such a swap from taking place.
The most pressing one is that with Gordon Hayward on a max contract worth over $31 million this upcoming season, there’s almost no realistic way to get salaries to match to allow the trade to be completed. The Spurs would have to provide more assets along with Kawhi, which perhaps they’d agree to under certain circumstances, but likely not to the degree they’d need to in this case.
Is it possible? Sure. But in tinkering with possibilities on both teams’ rosters, I’m having a hard time seeing anything realistic that matches salaries with Hayward that would truly get the Spurs to pull the trigger on a deal.
And there’s no need for the Celtics to feel a need to move Hayward for him because of their positions. Despite the potential redundancy of Hayward and Leonard, such a concern shouldn’t really be a problem as the league trends towards position-less basketball.
Now:
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) June 15, 2018
1) If the Spurs grant Kawhi Leonard’s request, they're under no obligation to trade him to a "preferred" team.
2) Their only obligation would be to make the best deal 4 themselves.
3) And it would clearly make more sense for them to trade him east than keep him in the west.
Not only that, but Boston isn’t likely to deal Hayward considering the pretty penny they spent on him this past summer indicating clear belief in him. That’s further backed up by the fact that head coach Brad Stevens, Hayward’s former college coach, will almost surely fight to ensure he’s retained.
On the Spurs side of things, they’d probably be uneasy to acquire Hayward who missed pretty much the entirety of this past season. Until he can prove his ability to bounce back from the injury he sustained in the 2017-18 season opener, he’d be risky for any team to take on, especially at his current price.
Woj also provided us with something of an insight into what the Boston Celtics would offer the Spurs for Leonard, including a young promising forward such as Jaylen Brown and some combination of valuable picks–
Indiana had little interest in Paul George trade w/ Lakers -- and that'll be case for Spurs too. Boston gives Spurs best building blocks of assets -- one of young forwards (likely Jaylen Brown), its own 18 pick/19 protected Kings pick, etc. Lonzo to Spurs? Don't hold your breath.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 15, 2018
Of course, Boston would have to include more than just Brown in order to match salaries, but that’s a relatively easy fix. As good as Hayward is, not only does his injury present some risk, but San Antonio will probably also be looking for more youth and future assets to replace Kawhi with rather than a 28-year-old Hayward.
In short, although embittered Utah Jazz fans may love nothing more than to see the player that cast his former squad aside go on to be similarly cast aside himself by his new squad, it’s far from a likely possibility. Not only will the Celtics face stiff competition from other teams if they do try to pry Leonard away, but it’s unlikely that Hayward would be the one included in such a transaction.
His hefty salary would be the first major obstacle that would halt such a deal, but there are plenty of reasons beyond that.
Next: Kawhi Leonard to Utah Jazz an intriguing thought, but still as unlikely as ever
So while Boston, especially with their multitude of valuable draft picks, may very well ultimately put the best package together to acquire Kawhi Leonard, don’t expect him to be swapped for Gordon Hayward.
Instead, if the C’s are successful in achieving such a goal, plan on Hayward and Kawhi suiting up as teammates for the 2018-19 season.