The Golden State Warriors were expected to be one of the major suitors for Kawhi Leonard this offseason after failing to acquire him from the Los Angeles Clippers at last season’s trade deadline. By the time summer arrived, though, the Warriors weren’t quite as interested in Leonard, according to team insider Anthony Slater. Slater explained why their interest cooled down on The Hoop Collective podcast.
“The Warriors were really into the Kawhi Leonard trade idea at the trade deadline last February,” Slater said. “They were less into that idea this summer. You know, again, part of it is like the Kawhi extension and Kawhi clearly in a lot of ways wanted to direct himself to Toronto.
“I think we would both agree that that was part of the trade complexities, but also I think started to be sniffing around the league of this idea of like maybe there was punishment heading Kawhi’s way, and I think that might have warded off some suitors,” Slater added.
The Warriors and Clippers had agreed on much of the terms of a Leonard trade back in February. It would have been some move at the time, but it wasn’t to be. The Clippers ultimately pulled out of talks and kept Leonard. They were also indicating at the start of the offseason that the seven-time All-Star wasn’t going anywhere, but it soon became clear he was available.
The Clippers reportedly weren’t interested in handing Leonard an extension this offseason despite him heading into the final year of his three-year, $149 million contract. It appears the Warriors might have had some reservations about that, too.
Leonard, who averaged 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in 2025-26, would have been eligible to sign a two-year, $123.7 million extension. What complicated matters further was that the 35-year-old indicated he would only sign that extension with either the Toronto Raptors or the San Antonio Spurs: his former teams.
The Spurs didn’t seem all too interested in a reunion, but the Raptors were. That made pulling off a deal just that much more difficult for the Warriors. Add in the cap circumventation investigation Leonard and the Clippers were under, and you can understand why they decided to look elsewhere.
Now, as if the Aspiration scandal wasn’t bad enough, another one has now emerged involving Daktronics, the company that manufactured the Intuit Dome’s Halo video screen. This situation is just getting messier, and you wonder how it pans out.
Long before we had any inkling about Daktronics, the Raptors had actually agreed on a Leonard trade with the Clippers. They were sending Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round pick swap, and two second-round picks to Los Angeles for him.
The Raptors would end up putting the trade on hold, though, once they realized they would have to assume any risk of any penalties Leonard might incur as a result of the investigation. They unsurprisingly don’t want to risk being punished for something they didn’t do.
This has undoubtedly turned into one of the weirdest sagas in NBA history. You’d imagine some sort of punishment is coming. The question is whether it will be a slap on the wrist or something truly damaging.