NBA notebook: Spurs will listen to Leonard offers

Kawhi Leonard is not on the block, but the San Antonio Spurs are all ears should any NBA team want to float a trade offer to acquire the soon-to-be-27-year-old All-Star. Leonard and the Spurs are reportedly at odds, and a meeting with coach Gregg Popovich days after reports of Leonard's trade demand sparked speculation that a deal could be imminent. This season, Leonard played in just nine games, averaging 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists. However, ESPN reported Thursday that the Spurs will not be contacting teams regarding trade scenarios. Instead, Popovich and general manager R.C. Buford are fielding calls from teams making proposals to acquire Leonard. According to ESPN and Yahoo, the Los Angeles Lakers contacted the Spurs, but the conversation was brief and no players were discussed. --Dwight Howard isn't interested in playing for the Brooklyn Nets, and the two sides have agreed to work toward a buyout allowing Howard to become a free agent. The Nets agreed to acquire Howard from the Charlotte Hornets earlier this week, a deal that doesn't become official until the NBA moratorium on offseason transactions is lifted on July 6. In the trade, the Nets would send Timofey Mozgov to the Hornets. But that didn't stop Howard from expressing his wishes to receive a buyout. He has one year and $23.8 million remaining on his current contract. --Guard Austin Rivers will exercise his $12.6 million player option to return to the Los Angeles Clippers next season, according to multiple media reports. The decision to opt in means that Rivers will bypass an opportunity to test the free agent market this summer. Instead, the 25-year-old will return to Los Angeles to play his fourth full season with his father, Doc Rivers, as head coach. Last season, Rivers averaged career bests with 15.1 points, 4.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game in 61 contests (59 starts). He shot 42.4 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. --Field Level Media