Kawhi and Wembanyama showdown just sparked a wild question about Spurs future

Victor Wembanyama locked in, relentlessly attacking the basket to will his team to victory. Kawhi Leonard as cool as a cucumber, unconsciously hitting shot after shot as defenders appear helpless to stop him. Both are familiar sights to fans of the San Antonio Spurs -- one the image of their glorious present, another of their successful past.

At the All-Star Game on Sunday night, their past and present merged together, as former star Leonard went toe-to-toe with current star Wembanyama. The alien from France against the robot from LA. Wembanyama dropped 19 points as he single-handedly convinced the league's stars to care about the game, while Leonard put up a mind-boggling 31 points to lead his team to victory.

And in the process, as Spurs fans watched in awe, a possibility floated close to the surface. Something ocne thought unthinkable, but perhaps is exactly what this franchise needs to bring everything full circle and to deliver the team's first championship of the post-Tim Duncan era. What if San Antonio brought back Kawhi Leonard this summer to pair with Victor Wembanyama?

The Spurs should reunite with Kawhi Leonard

Spurred by three-straight picks in the Top 5, including the No. 1 pick when a generational talent in Wembanyama was entering the draft, the Spurs have built an elite core of young talent. Moves around the margins and one big trade swing for De'Aaron Fox have together meant a team good enough not only to make the playoffs, but to hold the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. The Spurs are a legitimate threat to make the NBA Finals.

That is not to say they are a perfect team, however, and the relative weakness of their roster is at the forward positions. Their collection of options at the 3 and 4 are solid role-player types, but Harrison Barnes is trending into the twilight of his career and Devin Vassell hasn't made the leap into being something more than a 3-and-D wing. Julian Champagnie and Carter Bryant are not the shot-creating types.

Kawhi Leonard would be the ultimate glow-up at the forward position, able to play the 3 or the 4. He would bring the needed shooting that Barnes and Champagnie provide, while also adding a superstar ability to create his own shot. Teams trying to push Wemby away from the rim and also slow down Leonard would be tied into knots, and that's before De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle begin attacking the rim.

Many of the potential stars that have been linked to the Spurs have been either weak defenders or weak shooters; San Antonio can't target another weak shooter, given the limitations of their guards, and they want to lean into their defensive identity and not throw weak links out there just because they have Wembanyama. Leonard is a former two-time Defensive Player of the Year and a career 39.1 percent shooter from 3-point range. Check and check.

Now, the obvious barrier to Leonard returning to the San Antonio Spurs is that he didn't exactly leave on good terms with the organization. There was the bizarre back-and-forth about the severity of Leonard's injury and his commitment to winning basketball. There would likely need to be a real heart-to-heart between Leonard and the organization, if that's something Kawhi even does. He would need to win back some fans in the process.

If that hurdle can be overcome, however, the basketball fit would be majestic. And Leonard is likely very gettable this summer. Most likely, a retooling LA Clippers team listens to offers that would help them recoup lost draft picks. In a less likely but very real scenario, the NBA voids Leonard's contract and he becomes an unrestricted free agent. In either scenario, the Spurs have the assets to go after him.

Would Spurs fans be ready for a reunion? Would anyone in the West be able to stop a team of Fox-Castle-Leonard-Wembanyama? Assuming reasonable health, the answer might just be no.

Wembanyama and Kawhi. The superstar team-up that Spurs fans never knew they needed. And they got a snapshot of what it could be like on All-Star Sunday Night.