The San Antonio Spurs did not trade Kawhi Leonard—to the Los Angeles Lakers or anyone else—during Thursday's NBA draft. In fact, they made it clear they're in no rush to move the two-time Defensive Player of the Year and 2014 Finals MVP at all.
"Kawhi and his family mean a lot to our organization and to our community," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford told reporters in his first public comments since Leonard's widely reported trade request June 15. "While none of us would wish we are where we are, we are going to do what we can do to build the best relationship we can with him. We will explore all of our options, but the first one would be to keep Kawhi as part of our group."
Multiple reports have indicated Leonard, who can opt out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent next summer, would prefer to be traded to his native Los Angeles and, more specifically, to the Lakers. Despite this, USA Today's Sam Amick reported the Spurs would rather not trade Leonard, but if they do, they'd prefer to move him to an Eastern Conference club.
But any reports that the Spurs won't trade him to a Western team are likely just a bargaining play to get West teams to up their offer. The West teams listed below will be in contention for a Leonard trade as long as he insists on ending up in L.A.
There are a lot of moving parts in relation to Leonard's situation. Several big names, including LeBron James and Paul George, could change teams via free agency and join squads, such as the Lakers or Philadelphia 76ers, that may be interested in trading for Leonard. The Spurs have indicated they hope to repair their relationship with Leonard and may even want to sign him to the five-year, $219 million extension only they can offer. How those factors play out will influence what kind of proposals they get for Leonard and thus their likelihood of trading him.
With all that in mind, here's where things stand for Leonard with less than a week to go before free agency.