Latest in Kawhi Leonard saga further vindicates Spurs for avoiding reunion

The Raptors' ambitious trade for Kawhi Leonard didn't come without controversy, both on and off the court. Given this, the Spurs should feel pretty happy about their decision to steer clear of moving assets for him.

I'm going to be honest. The idea of a Kawhi Leonard/Victor Wembanyama duo in San Antonio sounded fun a few weeks ago. Think about how much they would have terrorized opposing offenses, with Kawhi harassing ball handlers on the perimeter and Wemby locking down the interior. It would've also been cool to see them work in tandem on the scoring end.

But there's a reason that will remain as nothing more than a fantasy. As great as Leonard is—a bona fide future Hall of Famer—there's a lot to deal with when adding him to your roster. The Spurs didn't need those extra problems, and they were wise to turn their heads and look elsewhere.

The Spurs didn't need to shake up what they already had

The Raptors gave up a lot to get Kawhi Leonard. They sent a ton of draft compensation to the Clippers (along with Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick) to pick up the veteran forward. So it's obvious that Los Angeles's front office wanted as much young talent as possible for him.

The Spurs already have something good going on with their young guys, whether it's Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, or Carter Bryant. They just made the NBA Finals, and while they lost in five games, the margin was close in each matchup. They're very competitive with what they have, so it never made sense to go all in on Leonard.

San Antonio only needed to make marginal moves rather than taking a swing at a blockbuster addition. That's especially true if that move would've come with a ton of question marks. Kawhi can still produce at an All-NBA level, but between this investigation and his health problems, a reunion with the Spurs could have aged horribly.

The Spurs don't need any big offseason distractions

San Antonio only needs to focus on developing their current set of players. Harper, Castle, Bryant, and Victor Wembanyama have a lot to work on; they don't need to burden themselves with any major distractions.

There's no telling what could come of this investigation, and the Spurs did the right thing by not putting themselves in the way of it. They need to come into the season with players who are fully available and ready to play, and steering clear of a Kawhi Leonard addition ensures that's the case.

Even if this investigation doesn't impact his standing with Toronto, the Spurs can still rest well. It won't be a situation where they'll regret missing out on him; they already have a championship core that showed they can go head-to-head with any other team in the league.

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