Some are convinced on the Clippers' future.
The Los Angeles Clippers finished the 2025-26 season at 42-40 and got bounced from the play-in tournament by Golden State, and now the whole offseason comes down to one question.
What happens with Kawhi Leonard?
The two-time Finals MVP turns 35 in late June and is entering the final year of his $50.3 million deal.
If the front office does not extend him or trade him, he can just leave for nothing in 2027.
Miles Wants a Clean Slate
Former Los Angeles Clippers forward Darius Miles, the third overall pick by the franchise in 2000, has a pretty clear opinion on what the team should do.
Miles still has love for Leonard but thinks moving on is the right call.
"I think that you just have to kind of clean slate, make some moves," Miles said.
It is worth noting that Leonard averaged a career-high 27.9 points along with 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists across 65 games while shooting 50.5 percent from the field this past season, so this is not a situation where the player fell off.
"I love Kawhi Leonard. I love Kawhi Leonard as a Clipper. I don't want to let him go, but he's probably the only one that you have to have some leverage to get out there and get some more picks or get some more players," Miles said. "I think it's time for them probably to let Kawhi go, which I hate to say, but I think they need to clean slate it."
Why a Trade Could Make Sense
Leonard put up great numbers individually, but the Clippers still opened the year 6-21 and spent the rest of the season digging out of that hole.
The franchise already shipped out James Harden and Ivica Zubac at the deadline, bringing back younger pieces and draft capital.
Keeping Leonard while everyone else on the roster skews younger does not really line up, and several teams are reportedly interested in making offers this summer.
The Fifth Pick Changes Everything
Miles brought up the young guys already in place and the draft assets the Clippers have stockpiled.
Darius Garland averaged 18.8 points and 6.7 assists after arriving from Cleveland, and Bennedict Mathurin put up 17.6 points per game following his trade from Indiana.
The Clippers also landed the fifth overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft through that Indiana deal, which gives them something they can spend on a prospect or flip in a bigger trade.
"They got a young Darius Garland. They got Bennedict," Miles said. "They're just going in a new direction. So I think this pick and them using Kawhi Leonard can make enough moves to kind of give them a nice young team that can play."
The front office may not see it the same way Miles does, but the Clippers have more paths forward this summer than they have had in years, and the Leonard decision will shape all of them.