New Kawhi Leonard Trade Rumors Reveal Interest on Clippers Star After Harden, Zubac Deadline Deals

The Los Angeles Clippers made some surprising moves at Thursday's NBA trade deadline by shipping away star guard James Harden and veteran center Ivica Zubac, and those deals reportedly influenced teams around the league to check in on their other star.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, league sources said that the Clippers "were hit with multiple" trade inquiries for star forward Kawhi Leonard in the final hour before the deadline following the news of Zubac being sent to the Indiana Pacers.

The Clippers started the 2025-26 season in disastrous fashion before climbing to ninth in the Western Conference with a 25-27 record, which led many to believe that the veteran group was staying together. Instead, Harden was sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for point guard Darius Garland, while the Zubac deal brought back swingman Bennedict Mathurin and forward Isaiah Jackson in addition to draft capital.

Stein explained that the Clippers "ultimately resisted the inbound interest" for Leonard but "certainly have rival teams openly wondering about their plans" for the seven-time All-Star following their unexpected trades.

Leonard is now the focal point of the Clippers, and he hammered that home with a 41-point performance in Sunday's 115-96 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Clippers-Timberwolves Full Highlights

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When asked about the trades last week, Leonard admitted that he was hoping to keep the band together for the rest of the season.

"Obviously, you need luck in this league," Leonard said Wednesday night, per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. "With shots, with injuries, with everything, so it's just how it played out. I wanted to give it another run, but it didn't happen that way, so now we're here."

If the Clippers fall short of their ultimate goal of competing for a championship this year, there's a chance that Leonard could be up for grabs over the summer, which would create another trade frenzy this offseason.