i think the "hawks have the ultimate leverage" case, is a bit over-blown.
The Spurs were seriously limited on time? Aldridge took his sweet time making up his mind, and the full details of the trade are still at large. I suppose hindsight is 20/20. But, part of the pitch to get LMA here was the decisive action of keeping Green and dumping Splitter? I'm starting to see the hesitation, and the need for second meetings, tbh. Was the pitch not a simple "look at these rings that Timmy and Pop win, and this shiny new maxed out Kawhi. think they're done? look at this beautiful state with limited tax, and plentiful family... you likey?" Do Green and Splitter really factor so heavily into the pitch that you gotta run out and make some lopsided deal?
And another thing. the Spurs were seriously limited on partners? Forget the notion that they're dumping Splitter, like a desperate, out of control junky. needing a LMA fix. all the branches of the Spurs management tree. Orlando, Utah, OKC, New Orleans, LAC, Philly, GS, Sacramento. , did anybody read the one about Portland and Splitter? It just happened last year, is a sign and trade seriously not an additional "ace in the hole" during the negotiation game of cards? There's no Gerald Wallace or Brendan Haywood to help smooth things out? Everybody so fears the Spurs talent at talent, that they'd shun picks and rights that must surely be some kind of trojan horsery?
If the hawks appear to have sooooo much leverage, it's not because the Spurs had a lack of options... it's worse than that. it's because they just aren't as smart as sooooo many suckers buy. Cue the bs.