Should Mavs Take Risk on Kawhi Leonard Trade with Clippers?
The Dallas Mavericks aren't shy when it comes to taking risks. They've made that perfectly clear over the last two years by trading Kristaps Porzingis to the Washington Wizards for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans in 2022 and then trading Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith for star Kyrie Irving before this year's deadline.
The former risk worked out a lot better than the latter mainly because the Mavs retained depth in the Porzingis trade. Irving's individual production and leadership was great in Dallas this season, but the Mavs just didn't have enough competent talent around Irving and Luka Doncic to help push them into the postseason.
With that being said, would the Mavs be willing to take another big risk by trading for Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard this summer? Leonard, who has a hard time staying healthy, missed the final three games of the Clippers' 4-1 first-round series loss to the Phoenix Suns due to a torn meniscus.
The Leonard and Paul George combination is a lethal one for the rest of the league, but they just haven't been able to stay on the floor together, especially when it matters most in the playoffs. Well, that is, unless they're playing the Mavs. Ironically enough, the Mavs have been on the receiving end of two of the only real healthy series Leonard and George have had together.
"We have to get back to honoring and respecting the regular season," Clippers executive Lawrence Frank said after his team was eliminated by the Suns. That statement could be perceived as a shot at the constant load management Leonard goes through each year. This season, Leonard played in just 52 regular-season games, but sitting out those other 30 didn't prevent him from getting injured in the postseason anyway.
Although Leonard has his injury concerns, he's still an all-around great player when he does play. In those 52 regular-season games, he averaged 23.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 51.2 percent from the field, 41.6 percent from deep and 87.1 percent from the free-throw line. That kind of production next to Doncic and potentially Irving as well could immediately vault the Mavs into championship contenders.
Even with Leonard being a risk, the Clippers surely aren't just going to be giving him away for nothing this summer even if they are ready to move on, especially if a potential move is going to be made with a Western Conference rival like the Mavs. If Dallas retains its top-10 pick in this year's draft, the best package it could offer the Clippers for Leonard – excluding a sign-and-trade involving Irving – would likely be Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber, Reggie Bullock, Josh Green, 2023 first-round pick (after the selection is made) and a 2027 first-round pick.
From the Mavs' side, giving up that 2027 pick is more of a risk than anything else, especially when considering Doncic's potential free agency in 2026. From the Clippers' side, that still might not be enough to send a two-time champion to a West rival. Because if by some chance Leonard did stay healthy with a lessoned load next to Doncic and Irving, it could end up looking like a lopsided trade when the dust settles.
Would the Mavs be willing to take a third risk in less than two years? Is adding a third star alongside Doncic and Irving more valuable than just trying to fill out the roster's defensive depth around those two? Should Dallas just simply value the draft more this time around, which is something it hasn't done consistently over the past two decades? We'll start getting a clearer picture of the direction the Mavs want to go after the May 16 lottery.
Follow Dalton Trigg on Twitter @dalton_trigg.
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