When the LA Clippers traded James Harden and Ivica Zubac at the trade deadline, there were two teams in particular who reportedly jumped in to inquire about the availability of Kawhi Leonard, as per ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel. On Friday, it was revealed that one of the teams who was reportedly interested in a potential Kawhi Leonard trade with the Clippers was the Golden State Warriors, as per Anthony Slater and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.
The Warriors’ original trade deadline targets were supposedly Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jaren Jackson Jr. Their interest in Kawhi Leonard was ignited after the Clippers trades that seemingly signaled a reset. When none of those potential deals materialized, the Warriors pivoted to their backup plan which was the Kristaps Porzingis trade.
Leonard is heading into the final year of his contract with the Clippers, worth around $50.3 million. Siegel suggests that he could once again draw trade interest from opposing teams. It could be a similar situation to when the Toronto Raptors traded for Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs. Leonard had been in the final year of his deal back then, and ultimately left the franchise in free agency after only one season. But it was still a success for the Raptors as they got a championship out of it.
Despite injury woes the past couple of seasons, Leonard has been relatively healthy this year, and among the NBA’s elite. He’s appeared in 47 games, at a little over 32 minutes per game. He’s been averaging a career-high 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.0 steals with splits of 49.7 percent shooting from the field, 37.9 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 90.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
