SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – JANUARY 27: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers looks on during the second half of a game against the Utah Jazzat Delta Center on January 27, 2026 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

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Rowan Fisher-Shotton

By Rowan Fisher-Shotton

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The Kawhi Leonard trade saga just got a whole lot more interesting.

Leonard is entering the final year of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers, and if they can't lock him up to an extension, many expect the team to move him. The Golden State Warriors, Detroit Pistons, and San Antonio Spurs have all been linked to the two-time Finals MVP in recent days.

Then on Sunday, things switched up dramatically. Reports emerged that the Clippers had held "real trade conversations" with the Toronto Raptors over the weekend, with whom Leonard previously won an NBA title in 2019. Leonard himself had previously said he'd be open to signing an extension with Toronto, making a potential return to the city feel very real.

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Now, the man who traded for Leonard in the first place back in 2018 wants in.

Masai Ujiri, now the president of basketball operations with the Dallas Mavericks, has legitimate interest in making a deal to bring Leonard to Dallas to pair alongside Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving, and according to The Athletic, the two teams have already discussed a package that would send P.J. Washington, Klay Thompson, and draft picks to LA.

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SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 27: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers looks on during the second half of a game against the Utah Jazzat Delta Center on January 27, 2026 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

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In 2018, Ujiri made one of the boldest trade moves in NBA history, trading away beloved Raptors star DeMar DeRozan, along with Jakob Poeltl, and a future first-round pick, which was later used on Keldon Johnson, to the San Antonio Spurs for Leonard and Danny Green. Leonard was on an expiring contract then, too, and it was widely speculated he was going to leave after one season regardless.

But boy, did that one year pay off. Toronto won 58 games, earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, knocked off the Magic, Sixers, and Bucks in the playoffs, and won their first-ever NBA championship over Golden State. During that playoff run, Leonard averaged 30.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.7 steals across 24 postseason games, and won Finals MVP.

Now, Ujiri wants to run it back, this time in Dallas.

Paired with Flagg and a healthy Irving, the Mavs would have a legitimate Big Three, along with valuable role players like Max Christie, Naji Marshall, Dereck Lively, Daniel Gafford, and rookie Morez Johnson, ready to compete in the Western Conference.

With reports suggesting Leonard is only open to long-term extensions with Toronto and San Antonio, if not the Clippers, it would again be a one-year rental for Ujiri. But the last time he did it, it paid off in the best way possible.

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