The best thing that Kawhi Leonard and James Harden did for the LA Clippers was leave. The Clippers got two first-round picks, a first-round pick swap, and two second-round picks for the former, while the highlight of the package for the latter was Darius Garland, who also came with a second-round pick. Those returns far outweigh what that duo could've given if they stayed around.
LA signed Leonard in 2019 because it wanted to win a championship, and stars don't often choose the Clippers. That led to their trade for Paul George, which helped create a powerhouse, but for the Thunder. Harden arrived in 2023 after requesting a trade from Philadelphia.
Five years later, George wanted more money than the Clippers were willing to give him, so he left for the 76ers. Less than two years later, LA worked with Harden to find him a new home before the trade deadline, and a few months later, the front office agreed to trade Leonard to the Raptors.
All the Clippers have to show for caving to Leonard's demands is one conference finals appearance, and in their two-and-a-half seasons with Harden, they didn't make it past the first round. That might've made it disappointing to see both of them go, but if there was any doubt that trading either player wasn't the right move, it should have evaporated by now.
Clippers didn't need to invest more money in Leonard and Harden
After LA and Toronto's trade for Kawhi became official, and after the NBA punished them for the cap-circumvention scandal, the Raptors signed him to a two-year, $115 million extension.
From Toronto's perspective, which LA can understand, it's not often that a star of Leonard's caliber chooses to go to the Raptors, so their eagerness to lock him down for that much money makes some sense. But the excitement of his desire to return to Canada shouldn't have outweighed his age (35) and injury history.
He's played only two games this season because of swelling in his left knee. Luckily, the MRI showed no structural damage, but he's already missed over two weeks because of it, though he's expected to return soon. As Clippers fans know, there's no use in being optimistic about Kawhi's health. You're just setting yourself up for disappointment.
Harden doesn't carry the same injury concerns as Leonard, but the Cavaliers signed him to a three-year, $97 million contract that includes a $33.7 million player option for 2028-29, when he will be 39. It might've seemed like he did Cleveland a favor by turning down his $42.3 million player option for 2026-27 to create financial flexibility, but the future doesn't look good.
He's averaging 15.7 points on 36.6% shooting from the field and 36.2% from three. According to databallr, the Cavaliers' offense is +16.4 points better with Harden off the floor, which is telling. Since his value doesn't come on the defensive end (they're better on that end when he's on the bench), things already look like they are trending in an alarming direction for Cleveland.
Things aren't pretty in LA, but they could be worse
No one is sitting here acting like the 2-7 Clippers are exactly where they need to be. But it would've been worse if they had invested more of their future in Harden and Leonard. Cutting ties with both was the best thing they could've done.
There isn't a whole lot to feel hopeful about in LA, but even with Garland's shaky start to the season, things are better than they would've been if the Clippers still had Leonard and Harden on the roster. There is no longer the pressure to compete for a title in a stacked conference, knowing the odds of that ever happening were closer to zero than 50 percent.
The Clippers didn't exactly know what was coming when they traded Harden to the Cavaliers and agreed to trade Leonard to the Raptors. Still, they actually did themselves a favor by doing so before the NBA stripped five of their future first-round picks.
Those trades, especially the Kawhi one, ensured they'd have some future to look forward to after their self-inflicted disaster.
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