With less than 24 hours before the draft, the NBA is already seeing a slew of trades, including a blockbuster that sent Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Heat. 

For a trade that might slip through the cracks, the Minnesota Timberwolves sent Julius Randle and their No. 28 draft pick to the Brooklyn Nets as part of a three-team trade that sent Nic Claxton to the Chicago Bulls. 

With much more in store across the league, this trade is a real gut punch for teams like the Los Angeles Clippers, who had been targets to land Randle and other key acquisitions in a potential Kawhi Leonard trade to the Timberwolves. 

For a Clippers squad that has missed the playoffs in two of the last five seasons and failed to get out of the first round on the other three occasions, they may have just watched one of their most important opportunities to reestablish themselves as true contenders slip away.

There is no doubt that when Leonard is healthy, he is an unstoppable force. This past season, he not only played the 65-game minimum to be eligible for NBA awards, he also put up career numbers en route to his All-NBA 2nd Team Selection. 

His unreal stretch of 57-consecutive games with 20+ points to end the regular season tied a franchise record previously set by Bob McAdoo. Averaging 27.9 points per game, he became the first player to average a career-best in year 14 or later. 

Despite the concern on his injuries, Leonard remained a persistent threat and had only continued to improve with age. 

Even considering owner Steve Ballmer’s firm anti-trade stance on Leonard, there was a potential upside to shipping off the 14-year veteran to teams like the Timberwolves.

The most highly sought out package between these two teams would have sent Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, the No. 28 draft pick, and a unprotected 2033 first-round pick to the Clippers for Leonard. 

The Clippers are actively seeking players over picks, and this trade would have given them a much more dominant center in Gobert, who averaged more than three times as many rebounds as Brook Lopez, along with a hard-nosed forward in Randle who could complement Derrick Jones Jr.'s two-way play near the basket.

With the Clippers stuck between a win-now mentality and a complete rebuild, what they decide to do with Leonard will ultimately determine that conflict. 

A truly clever move, the Timberwolves created a $33 million trade exception by removing Randle from the payroll and can now use their $50 million in cap space to explore free agency for additional star talent instead of relying solely on trades.