Kawhi Leonard Is Being Shopped By The Clippers And Dallas And Toronto Both Have Interest

Kawhi Leonard is the biggest name on the NBA trade market as free agency opens Monday and the Los Angeles Clippers look to move his $50.3 million expiring contract.

The 35-year-old forward averaged a career-high 27.9 points last season, and two frontrunners have emerged, with one team already eliminated from the conversation.

The Dallas Mavericks are interested, with a package built around Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington and draft picks.

The appeal for Leonard is a reunion with Masai Ujiri, now Dallas's president of basketball operations, who was the executive who traded for Leonard in Toronto back in 2018.

That deal ended with Leonard winning the NBA championship and Finals MVP in his lone Raptors season.

Toronto itself is also in the mix and willing to sign Leonard to an extension.

The friction is on what the Clippers accept, the Raptors want to include Brandon Ingram in the trade rather than RJ Barrett, and it is unclear whether Los Angeles agrees.

The Detroit Pistons, the No. 1 seed in the East last season at 60-22, reportedly had interest but Leonard will not sign an extension with them. Without that commitment, Pistons president Trajan Langdon has moved on to other targets. The Spurs and Rockets have also been loosely mentioned.

Any deal is contingent on Leonard agreeing to a contract extension with whichever team acquires him.

Free agency opens June 30. Trades go through July 6.