So, um, is Dwyane Wade a closet Boston Celtics fan or does he just want to watch the NBA’s world burn?
Yahoo Sports’ Jordan Schultz recently made an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show, during which he indicated that the Miami Heat guard told him he believes the San Antonio Spurs’ All-World Megahuman will end up in beantown:
Kawhi Leonard on the move to the #Celtics?! That's what @DwyaneWade told @Schultz_Report pic.twitter.com/jSZQgFwPWW
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) April 11, 2018
Here’s the transcription of what Schultz said, courtesy of the Spurs Zone’s Jeff Garcia:
“His (Wade’s) thought process was was probably like ours, which is something is really wrong there (Spurs). It’s so toxic and severed there between the front office and Kawhi Leonard, it might really be the point of no return.
Damn. Seeing “toxic” and “Spurs” in the same vicinity is still mind-melting. They’ve been viewed as the pinnacle of everything basketball for the past two decades. The idea that they may have turned off a top-five superstar in the thick of his prime who they’ve employed since he entered the league is weird and unsettling and just plain weirdly unsettling.
If you can look past how out there a Kawhi Leonard seems at all, though, Wade’s pick for his next destination is hardly ridiculous. The Celtics won’t have the cap space to sign the two-time Defensive Player of the Year when he reaches free agency in 2019 (player option), but they can build one of the most promising potential packages.
Some combination of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier, next year’s Sacramento Kings pick, next year’s Memphis Grizzlies pick, next year’s Los Angeles Clippers pick and any of their own future picks has to get the ball rolling if the Spurs are shopping. Matching salary will be an issue if the Celtics aren’t willing to give up both Tatum and Brown, but if the Leonard situation drags into the trade deadline, Boston should have some extra financial fodder from its summertime spending to dangle in negotiations.
