With the Los Angeles Clippers’ playoff loss to the Phoenix Suns, star forward Kawhi Leonard can decline his player option and become a free agent again.
Declining his player option doesn’t mean he would leave the Clippers. It’s more likely he would decline and then sign a massive extension with LA. But that will not stop other teams from trying until Leonard makes a firm, pen-on-paper commitment.
According to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks are preparing pitches to show their respective cities are in a better spot to compete for the championship.
The Clippers imploded in the bubble last season and fell short this year in part due to an injury to Leonard himself, who missed the final two games of the series against the Utah Jazz (both of which were LA wins) and all six games against the Suns (a 4-2 Phoenix victory). The Los Angeles roster needs work, especially since Reggie Jackson is a free agent, too.
If Leonard sees greener pastures elsewhere, that would be a major coup for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City owns the Clippers’ first-round draft picks in 2022, 2024 and 2026 and has the right to swap first-round picks in 2023 and 2025. These assets came from the Paul George trade in 2019 that convinced Leonard to sign in LA in the first place.
If Leonard stays with the Clippers, those picks are likely to be in the late first-round. A four-year deal would essentially lock Los Angeles into the playoffs each year through 2025, leaving 2026 as the most likely lottery selection.
But if he leaves? Well, Los Angeles would suddenly be without one of the best players in the league.
George has already signed an extension that runs through 2025, but the Clippers would have to look at the roster and see if it would be preferable to trade him for draft capital and start a rebuild. They would likely keep him, at least for a couple years as they try to remain near the top of the conference, but the Thunder would be better able to maximize those picks.
That’s all speculation for if Leonard leaves. There hasn’t been any reporting about his party or that of the Clippers; this is simply about other teams preparing offers for one of the best players in the world. Because of course they are — and they should. There’s nothing groundbreaking about that. But it does mean that, at a baseline, there will be some calls made throughout the league for the Kawhi Leonard Sweepstakes Part 2, no matter how quickly that decision gets made.