Kawhi Leonard has been in trade rumors for years. The Warriors have been the team chasing him for months. According to multiple league sources, this is the summer it actually happens.
The Athletic’s Jake Fischer wrote this week that Leonard is the No. 2 most likely star to be traded this offseason behind Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Warriors have been more closely connected to Leonard than any other team in recent months. The Clippers have begun a soft rebuild, trading away Ivica Zubac and James Harden at the deadline. The pieces are in place.
The basketball fit makes too much sense. Golden State needs a wing scorer who can play next to Stephen Curry. Jonathan Kuminga has not become that. Andrew Wiggins is gone. Brandin Podziemski is a fine player but not a star. Leonard, when healthy, is exactly the type of player the Warriors have been looking for. He can score, defend the best wing on the floor, and play off-ball.
The contract math also works. Leonard is owed $50.3 million next season in the final year of his current deal. The Warriors can put together a package that matches that number using Wiggins (wait, Wiggins is already traded), Draymond Green’s salary, multiple first-round picks, and young players like Kuminga and Podziemski. That is a serious package. The Clippers would have to consider it.
The hold-up has always been Steve Ballmer. The Clippers owner does not want to trade Kawhi. Reports from the trade deadline indicate the team had legitimate trade conversations with the Warriors but Ballmer ultimately said no. He has been emotionally attached to the Leonard era since the player signed in 2019.
That stance is becoming harder to maintain. The Clippers’ window to win is gone. The roster has been gutted. The team is unlikely to make the playoffs in 2026-27 as currently constructed. Holding Leonard for one more season as the team rebuilds is the worst possible outcome. It depresses Leonard’s value, ages the asset, and makes the inevitable trade harder.
The smart play is to trade him now. The Warriors are willing to pay. The package will not get any better than what Golden State can offer this summer. Ballmer should listen.
Leonard himself is the wild card. He has a no-trade clause. He has to approve any deal. The Warriors are an attractive destination on paper, but Leonard has been famously private about his preferences. He could approve a trade to Golden State. He could also veto it and demand a trade somewhere else, or to be bought out.
The other complication is Leonard’s health. He has played more than 60 games in a season exactly three times in the last seven years. He missed significant chunks of the 2025-26 season with knee issues. Teams trading for him are signing up for a player who they might lose for stretches every season. The Warriors know this. They are still interested.
For the Clippers, the rebuild has to start. James Harden is gone. Zubac is gone. The core that was supposed to chase a title is broken. Leonard is the last marquee asset. Trading him for picks and young players is how a successful rebuild starts.
For the Warriors, the desperation is real. Curry is going to turn 38. The window is now or never. Adding Leonard does not solve every problem on the roster, but it gives Golden State one more legitimate two-way player to put around Curry. That is the kind of move that gets a team back into the conference finals.
The pieces are aligned. The interest is mutual. The only thing missing is Ballmer’s signature. Multiple insiders think he gives it this summer. We will know soon enough.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
