Report: Kawhi Leonard Wants To Be Traded From Spurs, prefers a trade to Lakers or Knicks 

What's the story?

Reports from multiple sources have suggested that the 2014 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard wants out of San Antonio and that Los Angeles is his prefered destination.

In case you didn't know...

Leonard is a 2-time Defensive Player of the Year (2015, 2016) and finished in the top 3 in voting in both 2015-16 and 2016-17 as a member of the San Antonio Spurs.

The heart of the matter

Yahoo Sport's Shams Charania was the first to report the news.

Kawhi Leonard wants out from the San Antonio Spurs, league sources tell Yahoo.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 15, 2018

Adrian Wojnarowski and Chris Haynes of ESPN, both backed that report up with sources of their own but more importantly, both had additional content to add to this news.

San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard has Los Angeles — preferably the Lakers — at the center of his preferences for a trade destination, league sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 15, 2018

Kawhi Leonard isn't concerned about missing out on the supermax, sources tell ESPN. There's a feeling of betrayal that at this juncture, appears irreparable.

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 15, 2018

There are more than a few teams who can offer a better package to San Antonio for Kawhi than the Knicks can (assuming they don’t include Porzingis), but people close to Leonard have expressed a desire for Leonard to play in New York, per sources. https://t.co/CTs0ISkKXv

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) June 15, 2018

Disagreements between the Spurs franchise and Leonard have been going on for quite some time now. The doctors of the organization had cleared him to play but the All-Star small forward has been sitting out regarding concerns over his right quad.

Since a major disagreement between both parties around March, Leonard has even been absent around the team's bench, preferring to stay in New York, where he had gone to take an outside doctor's advice regarding his quad.

From both sides, there is a sense of betrayal. After the Playoffs, there were reports that both parties were going to meet to resolve the matter and by the looks of it, they haven't been able to come to a happy median regarding the situation.

What next?

While this reports certainly steals headlines, that's really all it does because for the Klaw to really leave from San Antonio, he will have to be traded. And the Spurs are smart to not let him go for nothing, so they will trade him but only if the deal available is the best one possible. Surely that process will take time.

Although reports have come out regarding his preferences, it's in the hands of the Spurs. Here are 5 possible destinations for Kawhi that San Antonio can also benefit from.

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Which franchise do you think should trade for Kawhi Leonard? Tell us in the comments below!

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