The Warriors have spent the last few years dealing with Kawhi Leonard as one of the West’s toughest problems. Now, at least for the moment, that problem has moved out of their conference.
After the NBA wrapped up its investigation into salary cap circumvention, the trade sending Leonard from the L.A. Clippers to the Toronto Raptors was made official on Monday, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. For Golden State, that means one fewer headache in a conference where Leonard and the Clippers have repeatedly had their number.
The Warriors did get the better of the Clippers in April, rallying for a thrilling comeback win in the first Play-In Tournament game before their season ended. That game also turned out to be Leonard’s final appearance with the Clippers. But that one result doesn’t erase how rough the matchup has been for Golden State over the past several seasons.
L.A. has won 12 of the last 15 regular-season meetings between the teams, including 10 of the last 11 since December 2023. Whatever the reason - scheduling, Ty Lue’s coaching, or just a bad stylistic fit - the Warriors simply have not found consistent answers against the Clippers, even while the two teams have posted fairly similar overall records in that stretch.
Leonard has been central to that success. He has been a thorn in Golden State’s side going back to his days with the San Antonio Spurs, and he also delivered one of the most painful blows in Warriors history when the Raptors beat an injury-hit Golden State in the 2019 NBA Finals.
His numbers against them over the last 15 games make the point even clearer: 24.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game, while shooting 54.8% from the field and 45.1% from 3-point range.
That kind of damage may have helped explain why Golden State was so interested in Leonard before February’s trade deadline. The Warriors reportedly believed they had a deal in place for the two-time Finals MVP, only for the Clippers to back out. This offseason, the trade finally happened - just not to Golden State’s benefit.
Seeing Leonard back in a Raptors uniform may stir up some old pain from 2019, but the bigger takeaway for the Warriors is simpler: he’s no longer sitting across from them in the Western Conference.
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