The Tribune

By INIGO 'NAUGHTY' ZENICAZELAYA

IT HAS been all of the good, the bad and the ugly thus far in the Lakers offseason pursuit of Kawhi Leonard.

THE GOOD

The good news is that Leonard appears committed to being a Laker.

The San Antonio Spurs have the ability to offer him a five-year, $219 million supermax deal when next season is over, but Stephen A Smith of ESPN has reported that Leonard prefers to play in Los Angeles as soon as possible - the money is secondary.

THE BAD

The bad news is he can’t choose his destination yet, and it appears the Spurs have zero interest in granting Leonard his departure a year early, enticing trade offers or not, as per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.

The Lakers are in a position this offseason to offer two max contracts, to go along with their core of young talent, so it’s perfect timing for the Lakers to add Leonard to the fold.

THE UGLY

Unfortunately for them, it doesn’t look like the Spurs are willing to negotiate any franchise at this time, especially the Lakers.

Old rivalries die hard I guess.

For now, the Lakers will likely have to keep their free agent options wide open in the offseason, but can be thankful they didn’t have to part ways with any of the impressive young talent, that’s turning the Lakers into a title contender, slowly but surely, by themselves without any pricey superstars.

MEET THE NEWEST

LAKERS

This offseason is crucial for the Lakers. This past Thursday, as our very own Bahamian Deandre Ayton went No.1 overall, the Lakers took their first steps into said crucial offseason, during the NBA draft.

Addressing a major weakness on the squad, outside shooting, the Lakers selected German and former Michigan forward Moe Wagner with the 25th pick, a pick acquired in the trade that sent Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After trading with the Sixers, the Lakers took another German Isaac Bonga with the 39th pick, which they will officially acquire after the moratorium ends on free agency next month, but expect Bonga to remain overseas this season, join the Lakers next season.

Finally with the 47th pick they drafted shooting guard Svi Mykhailiuk of Kansas.

WAGNER

Wagner, who grew up in Germany, made 39.5% of his three-point shots during his sophomore and junior seasons at Michigan. Extremely high basketball IQ. Could turn out to be Nowitzki 2.0 with some work.

BONGA

Bonga, 18, is expected to be a project, but the Lakers top brass, GM Rob Pelinka and director of scouting Jesse Buss got a close look at Bonga during a trip to Europe this spring, and are said to be excited about his potential and high ceiling.

The Lakers acquired the pick in a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, giving up cash and a 2019 second-round pick.

MYKHAILIUK

Mykhailiuk, a 6-foot-8 guard from Ukraine, and the University of Kansas made 44.4% of his three-point shots in his senior year at Kansas and set a school record by making 115.

Good athlete who plays solid defence also.

Definitely has the talent to be a starter for the Lakers. I’m excited to see this year’s draft picks mesh with last year’s picks of Ball, Kuzma, Hart and Bryant.

And yes, re-sign Julius Randall, who in my opinion is a key element to the Lakers resurgence.

• Naughty presents ‘Mischief and Mayhem in da AM’ from 6am to 10am, Monday to Friday and ‘The Press Box’ sports talk show on Sunday from 10am to 1pm, on KISS FM 96.1.Comments and questions to naughty@tribunemedia.net