NBA trade season is in full swing, and it’s only just getting started. The first domino fell with Giannis Antetokounmpo going to the Miami Heat, and league-wide activity is now expected to pick up in a big way.
That came to fruition on Thursday morning as the Charlotte Hornets dealt star point guard LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Now the question becomes: who’s the next star or superstar player to be on the move?
Plenty of buzz has surrounded the future of Kawhi Leonard recently, and during night two of the NBA Draft on Wednesday, ESPN insider Bobby Marks said teams are undoubtedly monitoring the situation. He mentioned Leonard’s two former teams, the Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs, as landing spots to keep an eye on.
“Yeah, he’s extension eligible, he’s got two years left. I mean, I think there’s a lot of playoff teams keeping an eye on what happens with Kawhi Leonard… maybe his former teams,”
The 34-year-old Leonard is set to enter the third and final year of the three-year, $149.5 million maximum contract extension he signed with the Clippers in 2024. He averaged a career-high 27.9 points per game to go along with 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 65 appearances last season.
A Leonard trade is intriguing enough on its own, but a potential return to Toronto or San Antonio would be fascinating. His lone season with the Raptors in 2018-19 couldn’t have gone much better, and while his tenure with the Spurs didn’t end well, enough time has passed that perhaps he could be open to going back.
Detroit, among others, is surely in the mix as well, so there will be competition to land Leonard if he is, in fact, available.
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