The Spurs Have the Pieces to Bring Back Kawhi Leonard ... but Should They?

Leonard became a superstar in San Antonio, and then forced his way out just a few years after winning a title. Should the Spurs leverage their young core to bring him back?

Kawhi Leonard began his career with the Spurs, winning one of his two NBA Finals MVP awards in San Antonio. | Soobum Im-Imagn Images

Years before Victor Wembanyama cemented himself as the true heir apparent to Tim Duncan as the next dominant Spurs star, San Antonio thought it had uncovered the next face of the franchise after a shrewd draft-night trade in 2011. Kawhi Leonard, an under-discussed wing out of San Diego State, quickly made an outsized impact with the Spurs after being acquired for George Hill, and in his third NBA season won NBA Finals MVP, leading the aging core of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili to their final NBA title.

Leonard averaged 17.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, shot over 61% from the field and knocked down 11 of 19 threes in the series as San Antonio took down the LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh Heat in five games. The series ultimately ended that four-year dynastic run for Miami, as James would return to the Cavaliers that summer.

Leonard would win back-to-back defensive player of the year awards in 2015 and ‘16, and earned a pair of first-team All-NBA teams and All-Star nods in ‘16 and ‘17. By the ‘15–16 season, Leonard had become a 20-plus point-per-game scorer and a reliable three-point threat. He was quickly climbing the ranks of best overall NBA players and the centerpiece of the post-Duncan Spurs, a superstar with whom Gregg Popovich could continue to chase titles before riding into the sunset.

And then, mysteriously, it all went away.

Leonard’s career has played out in bizarre fashion. He forced a trade from San Antonio after playing just nine games in 2017–18, as an injury standoff with the team ended his season in January. He was dealt as a one-year mercenary to the Raptors and ... won a title and a second NBA Finals MVP award, effectively grinding another dynasty, the Warriors, to a halt. But he had no intention of staying, signing with the Clippers in his native Los Angeles. That tenure has not paid serious dividends and has been marred by Leonard’s troubling injury history, and now, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, he is the focus of trade rumors as he enters the final year of his contract.

And while Leonard prefers to stay with L.A., in a wild turn of events Fischer reports that there are just two teams that he’d be open to signing a long-term contract with:

The Raptors and the Spurs.

Leonard could have become a franchise cornerstone for both teams, but ultimately left for a huge (and allegedly impermissible) payday from Steve Ballmer to be the face of the Clippers. Now, as the Los Angeles experiment has largely failed and L.A. looks to reset after trading James Harden and Ivica Zubac during the season, the idea of trading Leonard has come to the forefront.

Per Fischer, the Raptors are deeply interested in adding Leonard to a team that, while clearly incomplete, took the talented Cavaliers to the brink in the first round of the playoffs.

The Spurs’ interest is unknown, and as Fischer notes, the rough breakup in 2018 makes a match far more complicated, though Leonard would provide a reliable offensive engine to a roster that clearly needed it when Victor Wembanyama was off the floor or worn out by players like Karl-Anthony Towns, and wouldn’t do anything to harm San Antonio’s stifling defense.

Should the Spurs explore a deal to bring back their erstwhile former franchise centerpiece, pairing him with Wemby to form one of the most disruptive pairings in the league? Given what Los Angeles would want in return, and Leonard’s history, the move is far from obvious.

A Kawhi Leonard trade would likely cost the Spurs a burgeoning superstar like Dylan Harper or Stephon Castle

Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle are two of the NBA’s most exciting young guards. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

After winning the 2023 NBA draft lottery for the right to take Wembanyama, the Spurs just kept nailing their picks. In 2024, they used the No. 4 pick on UConn guard Stephon Castle, a rangy 6'6" two-way star who won Rookie of the Year in 2025 and elevated his game this past season, serving as one of San Antonio’s most important players in their run to the NBA Finals.

And in last year’s draft, they used the No. 2 pick on Dylan Harper out of Rutgers. Harper’s role was more muted with veteran De’Aaron Fox locked in as starting point guard, and he started just four games during the regular season, but flashed the impressive potential that made him such a high pick. He exploded in the postseason, scoring 14.1 points per game and .515/.333/.827 shooting, playing an extra four minutes per game as Fox was hampered by injury.

Harper’s breakout coincided with (and was aided by) Fox’s rough injury-addled stretch of play in the Western Conference and NBA Finals, and as a result, Fox’s future with San Antonio has been put under a microscope, though there isn’t much noise from the team itself about moving the vet. A deal for an expensive player like Leonard ($50.3 million in 2026–27) would provide an opportunity for the Spurs to get off of Fox’s potentially onerous deal, which is estimated at $221.7 million over four years, and $49.5 million in 2026–27.

However, the deal would almost certainly have to include a young Spurs star and/or a package of draft picks, and with Victor Wembanyama firmly off the table for any conceivable trade, the most likely options come down to Harper or Castle.

Harper looked like San Antonio’s most reliable offensive player at times during the playoffs and profiles as a future All-NBA asset. Trading him for an aging, injury-prone forward like Leonard could turn into the Spurs’ version of the Clippers’ disastrous trade of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and picks for Paul George.

Castle may have less obvious upside but also could fit the Clippers roster more cleanly, as L.A. acquired Darius Garland and just drafted Keaton Wagler at No. 5, a pairing of 26- and 19-year-old backcourt players. Castle has the size to slide over to the three, and has trouble when tabbed to be the full-time lead guard, as evidenced by his turnover issues in the playoffs.

On paper, Leonard would be a solid upgrade right now, but would San Antonio really want to punt on a great two-way guard who is just 21 and set to make $22 million over the next two years, even if it means hanging onto Fox’s max deal?

If you could guarantee that Leonard would be as healthy as he was down the stretch in 2025–26, maybe, but as the Spurs know first-hand, there is absolutely no guarantee of that.

Kawhi Leonard’s lengthy injury history makes any megadeal a risk

Kawhi Leonard has averaged just 57 games per year over his NBA career due to a variety of injuries. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The upside to acquiring Leonard is massive.

The Clippers went into a massive hole early in the 2025–26 season, in part because of an ankle injury that cost Leonard 10 games in November. They went just 2–10 with him out of the lineup and even with him playing, were absolutely dreadful to start the year, going 4–20 from Oct. 28 to Dec. 18.

They rebounded, however, to win 17 of their next 21 and proceeded to claw back into the playoff race, ultimately falling to the Warriors in the play-in tournament. Individually, Leonard played 65 games despite the early injury and put together one of his best NBA seasons. He scored a career-high 27.9 points per game on .505/.387/.892 shooting with 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

And yet, at 34, Leonard is right at the point in which elite NBA talents not named LeBron James often start to decline. Throw in the fact that Leonard has played an average of just 57 games per year across his career, and missed much of the 2024–25 season with knee inflammation, and the risks of moving a talent like Castle or Harper for him, who could be star players in San Antonio for a decade-plus and just had the Spurs on the brink of a championship in their early 20s, likely outweigh the reward.

The verdict

A Spurs trade for Kawhi Leonard would almost certainly involve one of San Antonio’s young stars, like Stephon Castle. | William Liang-Imagn Images

No, San Antonio didn’t get over the hump this season against the Knicks (who, you may have heard, won the NBA Finals in five games). However, they were extremely close to capturing a title despite a core of players in their very early 20s. The experienced New York roster, led Jalen Brunson—the NBA’s answer to Mariano Rivera during these playoffs—was just too good in crunch time, overcoming big deficits in just about every game.

The fact that San Antonio jumped from missing the playoffs to knocking off an experienced Timberwolves team and beating the defending champion Thunder is proof that it should stay the course. Wemby & Co. have improved rapidly, not only year-to-year, but just over the course of the 2026 playoffs.

The superstar center will keep adding to his game and become more unstoppable as a result of the lessons he was given by KAT, OG Anunoby and the rest of the Knicks. The current versions of Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper may be the worst versions of them we ever see in NBA uniforms.

A trade for Leonard could pay off with a title—he has delivered a pair of them—and would be an incredible full-circle moment for one of the NBA’s great recent “what-if” stories, but the Spurs are already at the precipice of a championship, and are more likely to win multiple if they stay the course with their young guns.

What about the Raptors’ pursuit of Leonard?

Kawhi Leonard won a championship in his one year with the Raptors. | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

This one makes far more sense. The Raptors have also built an impressive and pretty young core, but outside of Scottie Barnes, it is difficult to call any of them off-limits.

Toronto is clearly on the hunt for a star player, and Leonard fits the bill even better than their last target, LaMelo Ball, for whom they were beaten out by the Timberwolves on Thursday morning.

The Raptors can deal Jakob Poeltl, whose three-year, $83 million deal kicks in this year, to get off of a troubling contract, help match salaries and give the Clippers a potential Zubac replacement.

Young scoring guards like Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett could be moved, though their fit in a busy L.A. backcourt is a question. Forward Collin Murray-Boyles was a second team All-Rookie selection and took a big step forward in the playoffs, and would be a prime trade target. Brandon Ingram would also be a natural fit, as he is set to make $81.9 million over the next two years, and occupies a similar place to Leonard on the floor.

Toronto may also be leary of getting back in the Leonard business, but those scars should be less deep than San Antonio’s; he was always a clear rental in 2019, even if it was bizarre to see any team’s best player leave immediately after a title. And the downside of dealing their young, non-Barnes pieces is far less stark than what a Spurs package would be.

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