The LA Clippers should seriously consider trading Kawhi Leonard this summer. But before they can adequately assess the Leonard trade market, they need the Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jaylen Brown sweepstakes to wrap up. Once those two guys get traded, the Clippers can properly assess the market.
Antetokounmpo is the biggest name on the trade market right now. A ton of teams are supposedly interested in bringing him on board, including the Boston Celtics, who would trade Brown. And if they did, teams would then inquire about Brown. For the time being, those two guys are taking up most of the rumor space around the NBA.
And until the saga ends, the Clippers are likely stuck in flux.
Kawhi Leonard trade probably has to wait until Giannis and Jaylen Brown deals get ironed out
Unfortunately for the Clippers, the Leonard era in LA hasn’t quite gone as they once envisioned. They’ve only made the Western Conference finals once, and Leonard wasn’t even part of that entire run.
That said, Leonard just wrapped up one of the best regular seasons of his career. He was awesome. Unfortunately, the Clippers’ slow start came back to bite them.
They lost in the Play-In Tournament against the Golden State Warriors, pouring cold water on their impressive second-half run. They were on fire. Then, they were eliminated.
Now, the future looks much different in LA. Darius Garland is the point guard. Bennedict Mathurin looks impressive. And the Clippers landed the No. 5 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
The Clippers are younger than they’ve been in years, and Leonard doesn’t really fit with that timeline. So, it could be smart for LA to trade him and commit to its new timeline.
The investigation into Leonard and Aspiration could scare some teams off, but Leonard is a superstar-level player when healthy. A team will take the chance.
However, right now, Antetokounmpo and Brown are clogging the trade rumor lanes. Everyone’s eyes are on those guys, for better or for worse.
Even the teams that aren’t necessarily interested in either player are probably waiting to see what the fallout of the trade(s) looks like. So, the trade market is probably waiting.
Thus, if the Clippers want to trade Leonard this summer – which they probably should – then they probably have to wait until the Antetokounmpo and Brown drama gets sorted out.
Until then, LA will be waiting around, just thinking about what types of Leonard trades they may want to attempt to make this offseason.
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