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New NBA mock trade proposal pairs Steph Curry with Kawhi Leonard on the Warriors.

The Golden State Warriors will reportedly be looking to make a splash this offseason. Though everything is currently being held up by the pending decision between Steve Kerr and the front office over Kerr's role as head coach, there's still anticipation for what's to come in the draft, free agency, and potential trades, whether Kerr is the coach or not.

Over the course of this past season, trade ideas were rampant for the Warriors, especially around the trade deadline when they were shopping Jonathan Kuminga. Rumors of stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo were on the table, and though the Warriors ended up with Kristaps Porzingis, who's more of a sub-star, at best, they still have the prime assets that made them contenders for these stars in the first place.

Mock Trade Proposal Pairs Steph Curry With Kawhi Leonard

On Wednesday, ESPN's NBA Insiders proposed four different trades that the Los Angeles Clippers could explore in the event that they ship off superstar Kawhi Leonard.

Currently, the Clippers have an abundance of questions to answer this offseason, many of them stemming from uncertainty about what the league may do in response to the salary cap circumvention that owner Steve Ballmer and Leonard engaged in with the company Aspiration.

If Leonard ends up needing to be removed from the Clippers, whether by voided contract or forced trade, then many other teams will be clamoring for the 34-year-old who just had the best statistical season of his career.

One trade that ESPN suggested involved the Warriors and their premier assets: first-round picks.

The mock trade proposal was simple. The Warriors would get Kawhi Leonard, and the Clippers would get Jimmy Butler, a lottery-protected first-round pick in 2027, and an unprotected first-round pick in 2032.

The 2032 pick is the most valuable piece, as Steph Curry and potentially even Leonard would be retired by then, leaving the Warriors in a much worse state than they currently are.

Butler would likely be either flipped in another trade or allowed to walk in free agency, clearing cap space, while the lottery-protected pick is just a sweetener on top that'd likely convey in 2028 instead.

For the Warriors, this would be an incredible pairing. Leonard averaged 27.9 points per game on 50.5% shooting from the field and 38.7% shooting from beyond the arc, simply astounding numbers considering his injury history and rising age.

The Warriors are also well aware of how Leonard's game improves in the playoffs, thanks to his championship and Finals MVP run over the Warriors in the 2019 Finals. Pairing the two together would be an offensive match made in heaven, and the defensive potential of pairing Leonard with Draymond Green would have any opposing coach in fits.

There were already rumors that the Warriors were pursuing Leonard at the trade deadline when the Clippers seemed to be selling all of their veteran players and entering a rebuild, but they were rebuked then.

There are a lot of dominoes that need to first fall before this trade proposal could become a reality. With the Warriors trying to find one last gasp at championship contention before Curry retires, though, this could end up being a win-win scenario for both franchises.

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