The San Antonio Spurs made it clear they were not attempting a fire sale for Kawhi Leonard built around draft picks and cap space. Their goal was to remain a playoff team in the vaunted Western Conference, which is why they took the Toronto Raptors' offer of DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a protected first-round pick.
So what else could the Spurs have gotten for Leonard?
Here is a look at what the potential suitors had to offer in trade talks, who was likely off the table, the challenges teams faced and why the risk was too great for some.
The Spurs had the financial advantage with Leonard, though that didn't end up making a difference in trying to resolve their issues with the All-Star forward.
On July 16, Leonard became eligible to receive a five-year, $221 million super max extension from the Spurs. After the trade, the most Leonard can receive in an extension (six months after the trade) will be $108 million over four years (starting in 2019-20). In free agency, Leonard will be eligible to sign a five-year, $190 million contract with Toronto (barring another trade before the deadline) or a four-year, $141 million deal with a team that has cap space.
San Antonio also made it clear that pieces keeping the franchise competitive in the playoff race this season were a priority in any trade. As we'll see, few teams outside of Toronto could swing such a deal for Leonard if he's likely to be a one-year rental.
Off the table: LaMarcus Aldridge, Manu Ginobili, Rudy Gay (Dec. 15 trade restriction), Davis Bertans (Jan. 15 trade restriction), Marco Belinelli (Dec. 15 trade restriction), Dante Cunningham (Dec. 15 trade restriction), Bryn Forbes (Dec. 15 trade restriction) and Lonnie Walker IV (Aug. 10 trade restriction)
Draft assets
Tradable contracts
1.Kawhi Leonard: $20.1 million; under contract through 2019-20 (player option)
2.Danny Green: $10 million; under contract through 2018-19
3.Pau Gasol: $16.8 million; under contract through 2019-20
4.Patty Mills: $11.6 million; under contract through 2020-21
5.Derrick White: $1.7 million; under contract through 2020-21
6.Dejounte Murray: $1.5 million; under contract through 2019-20
7.Brandon Paul: $1.4 million (non-guaranteed until Aug. 1); under contract through 2018-19
Complicating factors
While Boston and Philadelphia certainly had better draft assets, neither team had what the Spurs were looking for -- an established All-Star in DeRozan who can play on the wing and has length on his contract.
Combined with a young center prospect in Jakob Poeltl and a protected first-round pick (that converts to two second-round picks if not bottom 10 in 2019), Toronto checked the boxes for the Spurs' front office.
Off the table: Fred VanVleet (Dec. 15 trade restriction) and Lorenzo Brown (Dec. 15 trade restriction)
Draft assets
Tradable contracts
1. DeMar DeRozan: $27.7 million; under contract through 2020-21 (player option in 2020-21)
2.The young core (ranked by trade value of each player):
3.Kyle Lowry: $31.2 million; under contract through 2019-20
4.Serge Ibaka: $21.6 million; under contract through 2019-20
5.Norman Powell: $9.4 million; under contract through 2021-22
6.Jonas Valanciunas: $16.5 million; under contract through 2019-20 (player option)
7.CJ Miles: $8.3 million; under contract through 2019-20 (player option)
Complicating factors
Give Boston Celtics GM Danny Ainge credit for sticking to his principles.
Known for showing restraint since the Celtics' rebuild started in 2013, Ainge could have tinkered with the core players on the roster -- namely Jaylen Brown at the chance of acquiring an All-NBA player in Leonard.
The risk? Trading someone with Brown's upside on a rookie-scale contract for a player who could leave in 2019 as a free agent.
Remove the core players and despite a bevy of draft assets, the Celtics' roster of tradable contracts featured role players and not top-line starters.
Off the table: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, Al Horford, Kyrie Irving, Brad Wanamaker (Dec. 15 trade restriction), Aron Baynes (Dec. 15 trade restriction) and Robert Williams (Aug. 4 trade restriction)
Draft assets
Tradable contracts
1.Marcus Morris: $5.4 million; free agent in 2019
2.Terry Rozier: $3.1 million; restricted free agent in 2019
3.Marcus Smart: Sign-and-trade option
4.Guerschon Yabusele: $2.7 million; under contract through 2020-21
5.Daniel Theis: $1.4 million; restricted free agent in 2019
6.Semi Ojeleye: $1.4 million; under contract through 2020-21
7.Abdel Nader: $1.4 million; under contract through 2020-21 (trade value is $905K)
Complicating factors
Sometimes to acquire an All-NBA level player -- albeit one on an expiring contract coming off an injury -- you have to push your chips to the middle of the table. The one chip that the Sixers kept in their pocket was former No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz.
While Philadelphia certainly had the draft assets to get a Kawhi trade done, namely the Miami Heat's unprotected 2021 first-rounder, the roster for the 76ers featured a mixed bag of expiring contracts and role players.
What was off the table:Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Markelle Fultz, JJ Redick (Dec. 15 trade restriction), Amir Johnson (Dec. 15 trade restriction), Zhaire Smith (Aug. 1 trade restriction) and Landry Shamet (Aug. 3 trade restriction).
Draft assets:
Tradable contracts:
1.Robert Covington: $10.5 million; under contract through 2021-22
2.Dario Saric: $2.5 million; under contract through 2019-20 (extension eligible starting in July 2019 and a restricted free agent in 2020)
3.Wilson Chandler: $12.8 million; expiring contract
4.Jerryd Bayless: $8.6 million; expiring contract
5.Justin Anderson: $2.5 million; expiring contract
6.The former first-round picks: Furkan Korkmaz and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot
Complicating factors
Three major factors contributed to a Lakers deal not materializing.
The Luol Deng contract
Deng is owed $37 million over the next two years. The asking price around the league is two first-round picks to take back his remaining salary. The Lakers possibly could have moved the Deng contract to a third team like Sacramento with draft assets, but Los Angeles would not have any firsts left to send to San Antonio.
Making the salaries work
Remove Deng from any trade package and the Lakers were limited in the amount of salary they could send out in a deal, since the free agents signed this offseason cannot be moved until Dec. 15.
To take back the $20.1 million owed to Leonard (who would need to waive his $3 million trade bonus), the Lakers had to send back $16.1 million in salary.
That would have required clearing the deck and trading at least four of the below players, including both Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram:
Incentive to wait until free agency
The Lakers are in a position to have between $36 and $43 million in salary-cap space next summer, which is good enough to sign Leonard outright without gutting their roster in a midseason trade.
Despite Paul George returning to the Oklahoma City Thunder when the Lakers could have acquired the All-Star in a trade last year, the presence of LeBron James should be a good enough sales pitch to lure a second star from the 2019 class to L.A., whether that's Leonard or someone else. Also, don't forget that James committed to the Lakers for at least three years and there is no rush for them to cash in their assets right now.