Kawhi Leonard has privately maintained that he no longer wants to play for the San Antonio Spurs and will eventually alert rival teams that his intentions are to sign in Los Angeles when he becomes a free agent in 2019.
Leonard would prefer to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Spurs are unlikely to be motivated to trade Leonard to the Lakers.
Leonard had told confidants that he did not want to sit down with Popovich and has been purposely difficult for the Spurs to reach recently.
Leonard is angry over how the Spurs handled his quad rehab and is irate with public comments made by Tony Parker.
San Antonio has been prioritizing working through the issues with Leonard, but they have encouraged rival teams to present an offer if they so choose. The Spurs, however, have been reluctant to give teams guidance on what type of trade package they are seeking.