Steve Ballmer has not wavered on keeping his star forward.
Kawhi Leonard's name has been attached to just about every trade conversation this offseason, and the Los Angeles Clippers keep giving teams the same answer.
Despite interest from multiple franchises, owner Steve Ballmer has shut down any talk of dealing his star forward.
The Golden State Warriors pushed hardest, checking in on Leonard near the February trade deadline and again heading into the summer, but Ballmer stepped in both times and ended the discussions before they could gain any real traction.
Leonard has also been linked to the Miami Heat in trade rumors.
ESPN's Anthony Slater reported that Ballmer has maintained a firm stance against a Leonard trade, preferring to continue building around his star forward.
That has kept the front office from seriously engaging with any team that has called.
Why It Makes Sense to Keep Him
When Leonard is healthy, he still plays like one of the best wings in the league, and this past season backed that up.
The two-time Finals MVP averaged 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists across 65 games while posting a career high in scoring and playing his second season of 60-plus games since leaving Toronto in 2019.
That level of two-way production from a seven-time All-Star is not something most teams can simply replace through a trade package, and Ballmer appears to believe the rest of the roster can be built up around Leonard rather than torn down without him.
Los Angeles finished 42-40 and earned the ninth seed in the Western Conference before losing to Golden State in the play-in tournament.
The front office already reshaped the roster at the deadline, trading James Harden to Cleveland for Darius Garland and sending Ivica Zubac to Indiana for Bennedict Mathurin and what became the fifth overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
The Trade Offers
One reason Ballmer can hold firm is that the packages being floated likely do not reflect what Leonard brings to a team.
He turns 35 on June 29 and carries a $50.3 million salary entering the final year of his deal, which limits how many teams can realistically match money in a swap.
The Warriors would have to move multiple rotation players just to make the numbers work, and a deal built around mid-level prospects and late draft picks is not going to satisfy a franchise that still has a two-time champion on its roster.
Garland averaged 18.8 points and 6.7 assists per game this season and gives Los Angeles a lead guard to build alongside Leonard going forward.
The Clippers also hold the fifth pick in a deep draft class and have been exploring their options with the selection.
Lawrence Frank said the team has "great hope and optimism" about the future, pointing to cap flexibility and emerging young talent.
Whether that is enough to compete in a Western Conference topped by Oklahoma City and San Antonio remains a fair question, but the Clippers are betting Leonard is still part of the answer.
