For those of you assuming the Boston Celtics have already lined up for Kawhi Leonard, think again.

While the NBA world has been abuzz due to the report on Friday that Leonard wanted to be traded from the San Antonio Spurs and one of the four teams of interest were none other than the Celtics, we need to clarify to Celtics nation that the franchise has yet to even engage in trade talks revolving around Leonard, via Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe:

"The Celtics and Spurs have not engaged in any trade talks this spring involving disgruntled San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard, but if Leonard does indeed become available, Boston is expected to express interest, according to a league source.

This is not out of the ordinary, of course. The Celtics have long insisted that they make calls whenever star players could be acquired, and often even when it is less clear whether they are on the market."

As Himmelsbach mentions, the Celtics are always open to the idea of acquiring another star player. However, it doesn't mean that they have serious interest or that they've engaged in serious talks with the Spurs regarding the idea of acquiring Leonard.

The bottom line is, Boston is not a desperate team. They were one game away from reaching the NBA Finals with a depleted core and without two of their best players in Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. It would have to be a proper deal to the liking of Danny Ainge for the general manager to pull off such a deal and engage in such a team-altering transaction. In fact, it would be a team-altering transaction for the second straight year after the Isaiah Thomas for Kyrie Irving deal last year.

A lot of this also hinges upon LeBron James' decision. If LeBron remains in the East, whether it be with the Cleveland Cavaliers or Philadelphia 76ers, Boston may be inclined to make another major star move and that's where Leonard comes into play. But even with that being said, Boston is probably still the East favorite even if James stays in Cleveland or leaves for Philly.

Now, in the circumstance where LeBron completely leaves the Eastern Conference to head out West, it makes the scenario of Boston acquiring Leonard even more unlikely. Boston will already have such a major advantage over the other Eastern Conference teams next season when factoring in playoff experience and all of the All-Stars they feature on their roster.

Time will tell just how serious Leonard and his camp is regarding a trade demand. But there is no doubt both the Celtics and the Spurs will take their dandy time gauging the market for the All-Star forward, as neither team is in a desperate situation.