Woj: Kawhi Leonard wants to leave Spurs for Lakers

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The San Antonio Spurs' All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard is feeling uncomfortable with his team and ready to leave, according to Shames Charania of Yahoo Sports. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski added that Kawhi's preferred destination is the Los Angeles Lakers, in a tweet on Friday.

According to Woj, Kawhi has not said anything specific to the Spurs about his future. Two teams from LA, the Lakers and the Clippers have shown interest in taking in the 2014 NBA Finals MVP via a trade. Kawhi's team is also interested in a possible 219-million-US-dollar five-year contract from San Antonio.

Ian Begley who's also from ESPN said that Kawhi expressed interest in playing for the New York Knicks as well. There were multiple sources telling the league that the Boston Celtics, as always, is willing to negotiate with the Spurs to get Kawhi.

The Los Angeles Lakers are the No.1 choice for Kawhi Leonard, according to Woj. /VCG Photo

Kawhi signed a signed a five-year contract worth about 94 million dollars with San Antonio in the summer of 2015. He can choose to opt out of the last year of his contract this summer and take another contract with the Spurs. If he does, thanks to the Designated Veteran Player Rule (DVPR), he can earn as much as 239 million dollars in the next six years, a new record for NBA.

If Kawhi departs for another team and signs a five-year contract in next summer, he can get paid 188 million dollars, meaning that leaving San Antonio can cost him as much as 31 million dollars.

However, ESPN's Chris Haynes said that Kawhi himself is not worried about the loss. According to his sources, the 26-year-old small forward feels "betrayed" by the Spurs. Their relations is beyond repair.

The Boston Celtics are also interested in Kawhi. /VCG Photo

The reports have led to many to speculate on Kawhi's future. San Antonio Express-News said that the Spurs had no idea what happened until they learned about the story on social media. Los Angeles Times reported that neither the Lakers nor the Clippers have reached out yet because they worry about Kawhi's injury, which forced him to play only nine games last season.

Adi Joseph from CBS Sports wrote on Twitter "Tim Duncan would never." San Antonio Zoo said that they have already cancelled Kawhi's free membership. By contrast, Spurs' fans were not that friendly. One of them posted a video of burning Kawhi's No.2 jersey.