Report: Suns expected to make play for Kawhi using No. 1 pick

Armed with a cache of young assets and the first overall pick in Thursday's NBA draft, the Phoenix Suns could be looking to get in on the Kawhi Leonard sweepstakes.

League sources told The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor that they expect the Suns to make a play for the disgruntled San Antonio Spurs star by using the No. 1 pick as the foundation of a potential trade package.

Leonard, who has just one year left on his contract, reportedly prefers to be dealt to a team in Los Angeles. The Suns would need to have some measure of confidence that they would be able to re-sign Leonard if they were to part with the No. 1 pick, to say nothing of the other assets they'd likely have to include in a deal.

They reportedly balked at including swingman Josh Jackson in a potential trade for then-Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving last summer, and Irving had two years left on his deal. On the other hand, O'Connor reports that there is "a sense from league sources" that the Suns aren't married to the idea of drafting projected top pick DeAndre Ayton, and would be willing to trade down in (or out of) the draft if the right deal came along.