Shaqtin’ a fool: Shaq is crazy if he thinks Kawhi Leonard is going to the Celtics

Shaq thinks Kawhi Leonard will be a Boston Celtic next season. That’s the definition of crazy talk.

Kawhi Leonard will be a Boston Celtic in 2020. This is the prediction that Shaquille O’Neal made on NBA on TNT on Thursday that has set the NBA world on fire.

Granted, there are some legitimate questions about Leonard’s future in San Antonio. The All-NBA player has been out most of the year for the Spurs with a quad injury that has left some of his coaches and teammates to wonder if he’ll return for the postseason.

And then there are the fans who are wondering if the relationship between player and organization is beyond repair and a divorce is in order. There are already trade rumors swirling and Leonard will be a free agent in two years, but to make the claim he’ll be in Beantown this early is beyond ridiculous.

Yes, you did hear it there first, and it shouldn’t be repeated.

Ever.

The Celtics are already sailing over the luxury cap, which will likely still be the case when Leonard will be wined-and-dined two years from now. So that, alone, would make it nearly impossible for the Celtics to add another big-name starter to the roster, including Leonard, who will command one of the richest contracts in NBA history if he hits the market

There is another issue that makes Leonard-to-the-Celtics more absurd.

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Kyrie Irving will also be a free agent in 2020, and with Gordon Hayward scheduled to make over $34 million by that time, the Celtics will have a choice to make. Do they keep Irving or sacrifice him to try to make a run at Leonard?

This is no easy choice, my friend, and I don’t envy Celtics GM Danny Ainge for the decision that he’ll have to make. In addition, rising star Jaylen Brown will also be up for free agency that year, and he’ll, also, command big money that Boston may not be able to afford.

Case in point, the Celtics will have trouble on their own just keeping their current roster intact, let alone try to find the cap space needed to add Leonard to the roster. That’s why the comment Shaq made on NBA on TNT was crazy, and why he should be committed just for making such a ludicrous statement.