Cavaliers have reportedly made calls about Kawhi Leonard, but would that sway LeBron James to stay?
CBS Sports' Raja Bell believes landing Kawhi could impact LeBron's decision on where he'll play next season
There are two questions every NBA fan is asking themselves entering the summer. Where will Kawhi Leonard be next season and is LeBron James going to leave Cleveland again? Leonard has reportedly requested a trade from the Spurs and his preferred destination is to the Los Angeles Lakers. But what if the Cavaliers can somehow put a package together to get him?
Leonard still has a year left on his contract before he has the option to opt out of his deal. Even if Leonard says L.A. is the only place he wants to be, that doesn't mean the rest of the NBA can't settle on a one year rental for a potential MVP candidate. Especially in the case of Cleveland. The Cavs will do everything possible to convince James to stay for at least another year. Maybe a rental of Leonard would be good enough? CBS Sports NBA analyst Raja Bell certainly thinks it's possible. (You can hear all of Bell's thoughts in the video above)
"Yeah I do. My question is if whether Kawhi is going to come off that demand and go to the Lakers...If he's only going to sign with the Lakers that's a rental for them. But I do think if he's had these conversations with LeBron which I imagine he's had. If he figures out a way to get to Cleveland then LeBron stays in Cleveland. LeBron is looking for another piece. You put LeBron, Kawhi, (and) you don't have to get rid of Kevin Love in that package you're back in the thick of things."
As Bell said, there are probably some back channels that Leonard and James can communicate through. In today's NBA, if star players want to get together then they will move mountains to do it. However, as Bell said, the Cavs will need to figure out if Leonard has any intention of staying in Cleveland beyond one year.
On the other hand, would a one-year rental with James and Leonard be so bad? Think of it this way. The Cavs get Leonard in a trade and convince James to stay for at least one more year. James opts into the final year of his contract in Cleveland to play with Leonard for a year. At worst, the Cavs get one more year of contention with those two together. If Leonard chooses to leave for L.A. at the end of that season, and James chooses to explore elsewhere, then Cleveland can shift straight into a rebuild.
The best-case scenario is adding Leonard could convince James to re-sign with Cleveland on a longer deal, but there's no guarantee he would want to do that, even with the addition of Leonard. The best Cleveland can do is add talent and hope it convinces James to stay. Which is why the Cavs reportedly made calls about Leonard. Even if it's a temporary pairing. If that talent ends up being someone like Leonard? Then even better.
















