On the condition of anonymity, one agent in the NBA thinks that the LA Clippers will be blowing it up, including trading away a superstar.
In a piece for The Athletic (subscription required), anonymous agents were asked which superstar they expect to move in the offseason, and an LA Clippers superstar was the answer that one agent gave.
And it wasn’t Paul George.
There’s no clue as to who it is, but some agent in the NBA believes that Kawhi Leonard will be moved before next season. Going further, the agent explained their answer by saying
"“I heard (the Clippers are) going to break that roster up.”"
So that means that, if the agent is to be believed, they’re not the only person under the impression that the Clippers aren’t looking to blow up the roster; whoever is their source also believes that.
You should probably run to the grocery store now, because I doubt you own enough salt to take that quote with. This is one anonymous agent who will receive no backlash for saying it, and they have a further unnamed source who has no verifiable connection to basketball at all.
That said, we should be fair and treat this rumor as though it could actually happen, so let’s take a deeper look into it.
Does it make sense for the LA Clippers to trade Kawhi Leonard?
No. No it does not.
Ok, that’s that. It really doesn’t make any sense at all, and there’s no reason for the team to do it. They’ve got a guy who is, at worst, one of the five best players in the league, who wanted to come to the Clippers, and who is 29 years old. You don’t trade those guys.
Besides, if you were going to trade a superstar like Kawhi, you would absolutely have to get back a great player who helps you win now, and at least one very good future asset, preferably more. And if you’re the team with a great player and multiple very good future assets, do you trade them for one year of Kawhi? Probably not.
It can be fun to play the fake trades game for superstars, we can certainly attest to that with some fake James Harden trades. But this feels like wishful thinking from an agent who won’t get called out for this take.