By WFAN.com
Kawhi Leonard is reportedly plotting to assemble a super team -- and it could be in Brooklyn.
A day after the San Antonio Spurs traded Leonard to the Toronto Raptors, the Toronto Star's Bruce Arthur told the "Back to Back" podcast that the two-time All-Star forward is already looking ahead to next summer, when he'll be a free agent. He has been in touch with other free-agents-to-be about possibly teaming up, Arthur said.
"He had already been in contact with other star players in the league saying, 'Hey, where might you want to play with me? What are we looking at?'" Arthur said.
"And it wasn't just LA he was talking about. Brooklyn was maybe somewhere that was going to have a ton of cap space, that might have been a possibility."
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Leonard, who demanded a trade out of San Antonio this offseason, is reportedly not happy about being dealt to Toronto. The Spurs sent him and swingman Danny Green to Toronto for guard DeMar DeRozan, center Jakob Poeltl and a protected first-round draft pick.
The Nets, who are in the midst of a slow rebuild under general manager Sean Marks, have set themselves up to have plenty of salary-cap space next summer and, with some maneuvering, could potentially sign two players to max contracts. They'll also have two first-round draft picks, including their own for the first time since 2013.
Leonard, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving and Jimmy Butler are the top players set to hit free agency in 2019.
Marks served as an assistant coach to Leonard and the Spurs for three seasons before moving into the front office there, and the Nets have plenty of other ties to San Antonio, the team that drafted Leonard 15th overall in 2011.
Leonard, 27, has gotten quite familiar with the New York area in recent months. He regularly traveled between San Antonio and NYC for treatment on the quad injury that limited him to just nine games last season. He also reportedly has spent a lot of time with his uncle and adviser, Dennis Robertson, who lives in New Jersey.
The Lakers, however, still appear to be the early favorite to land Leonard. The two-time Defensive Player of the Year is a California native, and Los Angeles, of course, now has LeBron James, who has led teams to the NBA Finals each of the last eight years.
In his last full season in 2016-17, Leonard averaged 25.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.
