The Mavericks have been floated in trade chatter around Kawhi Leonard, but there are already two major hurdles standing in the way.
Dallas has reportedly discussed a package with the Clippers built around P.J. Washington, Klay Thompson and draft capital, though more pieces would likely be needed to make the money work. Even with that framework on the table, a deal is far from simple.
One issue is the ongoing NBA investigation into Leonard’s ties to Aspiration. The early part of the season was filled with speculation that the Clippers may have tried to get around cap rules through a fake endorsement arrangement with the company, which had a $300 million deal with the Clippers and also received a $60 million investment from owner Steve Ballmer.
Leonard signed an endorsement deal worth $28 million a year, but he never appeared in any campaigns or advertisements for Aspiration. A separate wrinkle followed when Leonard began missing games because he had not been paid his endorsement money. Aspiration has since gone bankrupt, and co-founder Joseph Sanberg was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for wire fraud.
That investigation is still open, which naturally complicates any attempt to move Leonard. But NBA insider Jake Fischer reported, "We have yet to hear any suggestion that a potential Leonard trade would be held up by the league office because the NBA-commissioned external investigation into allegations of salary cap circumvention by the Clippers with respect to Leonard and the franchise's partnership with its former sponsor Aspiration is not yet complete."
In other words, the league may be looking hard at the situation, but Fischer’s read is that an approved trade would not necessarily be blocked.
The other problem is Leonard’s contract status. He is entering the final year of a deal worth just over $50 million, and ESPN’s Shams Charania has said the Toronto Raptors are the only team he would be willing to sign an extension with.
That kind of stance matters. Dallas would be asked to give up future assets for a player who may not be interested in sticking around.
The Raptors have been through that exact scenario before. Masai Ujiri made the 2018 move for Leonard without an extension promise, and it delivered a championship before Leonard left for Los Angeles that summer.
Fischer added another note that cuts against Dallas being a real landing spot, reporting that "Dallas is not currently regarded as a plausible trade destination in this case and has not yet been presented to Leonard as such."
For now, the Mavericks don’t look like a serious threat to land the 35-year-old.
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