The murmurs have already started. Teams are lining up for a potential run at one of the game's best players. We aren't talking about LeBron James, Kevin Durant or Paul George, who all have early termination clauses in their contracts this summer. That trio will dominate the news July 1 when the NBA's free agency period begins.
There is another player who has an ability to change the course of a franchise and the way things are heading, who might become one of the biggest trade targets in recent league history.
No one really knows the entire story about what is going on with Kawhi Leonard. The Spurs have their side and Leonard's team likely has a different version. What is known is that the 26-year-old small forward was cleared by San Antonio's medical staff to resume game action a few months back.
Leonard returned to the court for a nine-game stretch during December and early January. And then he shut it down again.
The two-time All-Star and former NBA Defensive Players of the Year has been diagnosed with tendinopathy in his right quadricep. He's bounced back and forth between San Antonio and New York City all season, having his injury evaluated and re-evaluated by both the Spurs and his own medical team.
Where the Spurs go from here is anyone's guess. They have the best two-way player in the game and he has made the decision on his own not to play.
A season ago, San Antonio rattled off a 61-win season before falling to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. They made additions in the summer to make another run, but without Leonard, they didn't stand a chance.
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To make matters worse, the Spurs roster is aging quickly. Manu Ginobili turns 41 in July. Pau Gasol is almost 38 and Tony Parker will be 36 soon and in the last year of his contract. Six players in their rotation are 30 or older and the clock is ticking.
Leonard's decision wiped out any chance of winning a ring for the Spurs. It also threw away one of the few seasons left for a couple of his teammates.
For the last four decades, San Antonio has been the model NBA franchise. They don't get into situations like this. And now they have to make one of the most difficult decisions a team has to make.
To complicate matters, Leonard has two years left on his five-year, $94 million deal he signed in 2015. The final year is a player option worth $21.3 million and it's very unlikely that Leonard will exercise that option.
Why is this of interest to the Sacramento Kings? It might not be, but that won't stop fans from turning to the trade machine to find a way to land Leonard in purple and black.
Anytime a player of this ilk comes available, it's within every team's best interest to at least make a call. It's possible the Spurs would turn the Kings down three seconds into the conversation. Then again, they might listen.
While San Antonio is going to want a star in return for Leonard, that isn't the way these things usually work out. The question then becomes, do the Kings have the assets to acquire Leonard?
It's very possible that the Spurs can get more than what the Kings would be willing to offer. Sacramento has a group of young players, two or three of which might draw interest. They also have a top seven pick in the upcoming draft.
Due to the Stepien Rule, the Kings can't trade their draft pick prior to the 2018 NBA Draft. League rules prohibit teams from trading draft picks in back-to-back seasons and Sacramento has already given up their 2019 pick in a salary dump in the summer of 2015.
The Kings can make a selection for another team and consummate a deal once the new season begins in July, so there is still an opportunity to include the pick in player form.
San Antonio would likely ask for multiple young players, as well as the Kings' 2018 selection. Sacramento also has cap space and a few veterans on expiring contracts to make the dollars and cents work.
Whether the Kings could come up with the pieces to make a deal work is debatable. The real question is, should they try and chase Leonard if he becomes available?
The simple answer is no.
No, the Kings shouldn't offer up a top 10 pick and two or three of their young core to acquire one of the game's best players.
Take all of the issues that Leonard has had this season and throw them out the window. At 100 percent health, the risk is still too much for a team like the Kings to take.
It's about the contract and it's about the talent that you would have to give up. The Los Angeles Lakers might be able to absorb the risk of trading for Leonard. They would likely have to give up Kyle Kuzma and plenty more to make something happen. But they would also have a fighting chance of retaining Leonard once he opts out of his current deal and becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Kings fans will reach deep on this, bringing up that Chris Webber made the decision to stick around in Sacramento back in 2001, inking a seven-year, $122 million deal.
Not only were those different times, but the Kings' franchise was on a roll. Webber was the best player on one of the best teams in the league. He was also surrounded by quality teammates, many of who remain extremely close more than a decade later.
Leonard would come to a franchise that hasn't made the playoffs since 2006. It is also a franchise that would have to give up plenty of assets to acquire him. He wouldn't make the Kings an instant success and although the team would have plenty of money in the summer of 2019 to not only pay Leonard, but add a few more pieces, the risk would never be worth the reward.
If the team truly believes that Leonard is an option, they might as well draft a high quality player in 2018, develop the current talent base, make a move or two to improve the roster and then chase the All-Star wing a summer later when they have upwards of $70 million to throw around.
It's a fun conversation, but one that can only lead to ruin for a team like the Kings. The best chance to turn things around for Sacramento is to stay the current course and continue to develop the players on the roster.
If the team can begin to build something, landing the right player and then keeping them around will happen for the Kings.
