Trade talks heating up around Kawhi Leonard being dealt to Mavericks

Los Angeles Clippers Kawhi Leonard reacting
Los Angeles Clippers Kawhi Leonard reactingAaron Gash / CTK / AP

According to a report from The Athletic, the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers are in serious trade talks involving Kawhi Leonard and Klay Thompson.

Leonard, 34, has one year left on his current deal and is set to make $50.3 million this upcoming season before becoming an unrestricted free agent (barring any extensions). 

The Los Angeles native has spent the past seven years with the Clippers after a one-year championship run with the Toronto Raptors during the 2018-2019 season.

Leonard spent the first seven years of his career with the Spurs after the team selected him 15th overall in the 2011 draft. The seven-time All-Star and seven-time All-NBA lifted them to their fifth championship when they defeated the Miami Heat in four games in 2014. 

Now, he'll be joining a Mavericks team that is far from being a contender. Dallas finished last season with a brutal 26-56 record, their worst since the 2017-2018 season. He'll be bringing over a career-high 27.9 points per game this past season to a Mavericks team that ranked 23rd in the same category.

As for Thompson, he'll be joining a third team in the past four years. The four-time champion with the Golden State Warriors posted a career-low 11.7 points per game and career-worst 39.3% in 68 games. Entering this past season, Thompson had never shot below 41%. 

He'll be entering his 14th season and entering the final year of his current contract, set to make $17.4 million. The two-time All-NBA sharpshooter has seen brighter days as his career winds down as he now heads to the west coast and joins a Clippers team that missed the playoffs for just the second time in the past eight years.