The Golden State Warriors are widely expected to pursue a Kawhi Leonard trade this offseason after attempting to acquire the two-time Finals MVP from the LA Clippers at the trade deadline. However, a franchise like the Miami Heat is in a better position to land Leonard, per ESPN insider Bobby Marks.
While predicting Leonard’s next landing spot, Marks also named the Warriors, Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets as potential destinations before picking South Beach as the most logical choice for the Clippers, given the assets Heat can offer.
“Marks’ verdict: Leonard to South Beach,” wrote the former Brooklyn Nets executive.
The insider floated a potential package that the Clippers can acquire from Miami.
Heat would receive: Kawhi Leonard, Kris Dunn
Clippers would receive: Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins, 2030 unprotected first, 2032 unprotected first
Kawhi Leonard Trade Package
“The Heat have been trying to land a true franchise superstar for years now, and this would achieve that goal,” wrote Marks.
“Leonard would be the centerpiece of a Heat team that could help lead Miami back to the success of the [Jimmy] Butler years.
“Leonard is a two-way superstar whose style of play fits into the culture of the Heat, and [Kris] Dunn is an excellent defensive guard who could pair with “Off-Night” Davion Mitchell to give opposing backcourts nightmares.”
ESPN’s Andre Snellings believes the Warriors can’t offer a franchise cornerstone like Tyler Herro, and thus could lose out to the Heat in their bid for Leonard.
“Herro would give the Clippers a good young guard to pair with Garland, Wiggins is still a starting-caliber small forward, and the two first-rounders would give them added currency to speed up the rebuilding process,” he wrote.
Warriors Eyeing Kawhi Leonard
The Warriors reportedly made an aggressive play for Leonard at the trade deadline after their pursuit of a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade fell through. Per multiple Warriors insiders, the franchise will revisit those talks with the Clippers this offseason.
“…Multiple league sources indicated this week that the Warriors were reasonably close to trading for Kawhi Leonard last February — apparently with much of the deal terms generally agreed to — before the Clippers ultimately decided to pull out of the talks,” Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard wrote earlier this month.
“…Leonard’s name continues to be connected to possible Warriors moves — either in continuing trade talks or, as many around the league are speculating, if Leonard’s remaining contract with the Clippers is voided after the investigation into salary-cap circumvention.”
Bobby Marks floated the following potential Warriors trade package:
Warriors would receive: Kawhi Leonard
Clippers would receive: Jimmy Butler III, 2027 first-round pick (lottery-protected), 2032 first-round pick
Butler is expected to miss a chunk of the 2026-27 season while recovering from ACL surgery. Both Butler ($56.8M) and Leonard ($50.3M) are on expiring contracts, making a potential deal a risk-free proposition for the Warriors and Clippers.
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