A stunning report describes how close a trade really was.
The Los Angeles Clippers nearly made one of the biggest trades of the season and walked away from it.
According to Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard, multiple NBA sources indicated that the Clippers and Golden State Warriors had "generally agreed" on the framework of a deal that would have sent Kawhi Leonard to the Bay Area before the February 5 deadline, but the Clippers ultimately decided to pull out of the talks.
"Multiple NBA sources indicate that they were close a deal for Kawhi Leonard at the deadline before the Clippers pulled out, and that GSW's plan to be just as aggressive this offseason trying to line up one more run," Kawakami reported.
The Clippers had already moved James Harden to Cleveland and Ivica Zubac to Indiana at the deadline, so trading Leonard would have been the final step in a full-scale teardown.
Instead, they kept their best player and are now 39-38, fighting for a play-in spot in the Western Conference.
Why the Clippers Said No
It is easy to understand why they pulled back.
Leonard is having maybe the best season of his career, averaging 28.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists while shooting 50.5 percent from the field and 89.9 percent from the line across 61 games.
That is not a player you move unless you are absolutely sure the return is worth it, and the Warriors' likely package of an injured Jimmy Butler plus draft picks might not have been enough to justify giving up a two-time Finals MVP who is actually healthy and producing at an elite level right now.
One report from ClutchPoints even suggested the Clippers never showed strong interest in dealing Leonard in the first place, and that the Warriors were more aggressive in pursuing the talks than the Clippers were in entertaining them.
The decision to keep Leonard also made sense in the moment because the Clippers were surging.
After that brutal 6-21 start to the season, they have been one of the better teams in the league since mid-December, and Leonard has been the driving force behind that turnaround.
Trading him in the middle of a comeback would have sent a terrible message to the locker room and to Leonard himself.
Will They Revisit It This Summer
This is where things get complicated for the Clippers.
Leonard enters 2026-27 on an expiring $50.3 million contract, and if they do not trade him, they risk losing him for nothing in 2027 free agency.
The Warriors are expected to come calling again, and league sources told Kawakami that Golden State plans to be "just as aggressive" this offseason in their pursuit.
Stephen Curry is still putting up 27.2 points and 4.8 assists per game at age 38, and the Warriors clearly believe pairing him with Leonard gives them a real shot at one more championship.
The Clippers also have the NBA's ongoing investigation into Leonard and the organization's ties to the bankrupt company Aspiration hanging over them.
If the league voids Leonard's contract, he becomes an unrestricted free agent overnight, and the Clippers lose him without getting anything back.
That possibility alone might push them toward trading him this summer while they can still control the return.
The Clippers walked away once and it was probably the right call given how Leonard has played since.
But whether they can afford to walk away a second time is a very different question, and one that could define their entire offseason.