Clippers Have to Make Fascinating Kawhi Leonard Decision in the Offseason

Will Kawhi Leonard be a Clipper past the 2025-26 season?

Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Clippers have hitched their wagon to Kawhi Leonard ever since the superstar signed with the team in the 2019 offseason. The highest profile player the Clippers have ever acquired, Leonard has been the sun the organization revolved around in the past seven years. The Clippers lived and died by Kawhi Leonard, and that remains the case as the 34-year-old forward is in the midst of the best stretch of his career.

Yet, the Clippers are far from a contender. They are ninth in the Western Conference with a 26-28 record. They have an outside chance of making the playoffs and maybe winning a round depending on the opponent, but they are clearly not title contenders.

Clippers Face a Kawhi Leonard Dilemma in the Offseason

This creates a fascinating dilemma for the Clippers. Leonard has one more year on his contract, making $50.3 million for the 2026-27 campaign. He is also extension eligible in the offseason. Do the Clippers want to keep Leonard in LA even though they are far from being contenders? Or is it better to trade him in the offseason while his trade value is still as high as ever?

Leonard's trade market is difficult to gauge for various reasons. The league's investigation into the Clippers' dealings with Aspiration and Leonard is ongoing. If Leonard is cleared, he should have plenty of suitors on the market. Finding the perfect trade partner, however, will be challenging.

The right team has to be a contender willing to offer Leonard a lucrative, long-term extension. It has to have enough assets to entice the Clippers to trade Leonard. It also needs to be a destination that Kawhi wants to be in. He has expressed his desire to play in LA and be close to home throughout his career, so how motivated he would be on a new team is unclear.

The Clippers have to think about their own future first. If they fail to make the playoffs or make any noise there, will they think it's worthwhile to keep this team together? Turning Leonard into future assets would clearly be the smart long-term move.

At the same time, as long as Leonard wants to be in LA, the Clippers will find it hard to trade him against his will. When you have a player of his caliber on your team, it's understandable to try to build around him for as long as possible, especially when you are an organization desperate for success like the Clippers.

It will be a long time before the Clippers have another player of Leonard's stature on the team. Therefore, seeing the Kawhi Leonard era all the way to the end is an appealing option for the Clippers. Whether it's the smart one, however, remains to be seen.

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