The Mavericks had a brief moment in the Kawhi Leonard rumor mill, but it did not last long.
After The Athletic reported Sunday that Dallas had shown trade interest in Leonard, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer quickly pushed back on the idea. On The Stein Line, they reported that the Mavericks are not viewed as a realistic landing spot and have not been pitched to Leonard as one.
That matters because Leonard’s situation is already narrow. Fischer reported that Leonard is only open to signing an extension with two teams: the Toronto Raptors and the San Antonio Spurs. Without that extension in place, any team trading for him would be taking on a one-year, $50.3 million rental - a price tag that makes the rest of the deal much harder to justify.
Toronto, meanwhile, has the cleaner path. Shams Charania of ESPN reported Monday that the Clippers and Raptors are seriously engaged in trade talks, with Leonard’s representatives telling other teams he would only want an extension with Toronto if the Clippers were not prepared to keep him long term. Charania also reported that Toronto’s expected package would include Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett, Gradey Dick and draft capital.
Masai Ujiri’s comments fit that direction. “Every decision we are going to make here is going to be future-based,” Ujiri said.
“We have a 19-year-old generational player on our roster, so we have to think that way. We are not going to make decisions based on winning today.”
For Dallas, the math is ugly. The Mavericks owe Charlotte their 2027 first-round pick unless it lands in the top two.
Their 2028 and 2030 picks are tied up in swap agreements with Oklahoma City and San Antonio, and they have no control over their 2029 pick. That leaves Dallas without the kind of package needed to compete with Toronto, even before Leonard’s lack of interest in going there is factored in.
So the Mavericks’ window on Leonard was always thin. By Monday, it looked shut. Toronto is where this trade is headed, and Dallas will have to turn its attention elsewhere.
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The intrigue is not just in the name or the position, but in how many different ways the talks could be structured if the Mavericks decide to push. Some of the frameworks being discussed would involve established rotation pieces and future assets, and there is also a local hook here for Dallas fans who have followed this players path closely from the start. For now, it is still the sort of rumor that can move quickly once the phone lines really open. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Just Made Two Telling Calls On Their Young Core
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Moussa Cisse also remains part of the conversation after Dallas extended a qualifying offer that makes the big man a restricted free agent, giving the Mavericks control over how far any outside interest can go. Taken together, the moves suggest Dallas is not just shopping for established help around its new regime, but also trying to identify which young players fit the long-term plan, even as the bigger roster picture continues to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Could Target Key Former Luka Teammate In New Dallas Twist
LeBron James decision to move on after the 2026-27 season has already changed the shape of the Lakers future, and it puts Luka Doncic at the center of everything they do next. With Los Angeles preparing to rebuild around Doncic, the search for familiar, complementary pieces is underway, and one name that has come up is P.J. Washington, the versatile forward who spent time alongside Doncic in Dallas.
Washington remains under contract with the Mavericks, so any move would depend on Dallas own plans as it retools around Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving. Still, the idea has some logic for the Lakers, who know Washington can fit in a supporting role and have seen him succeed in a Doncic-led system before. Whether Dallas is willing to make that kind of shift is the part that still hangs in the air. [Read more 🡒]