Why Heat should veer away from Kawhi Leonard - Hot Hot Hoops

Kawhi Leonard Miami Heat The Miami Heat was recently linked to Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard. (Mandatory Credit: David Berding/Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Clippers have had a difficult last three months.

Star forward Kawhi Leonard and owner Steve Ballmer became the epicenter of a scandal to allegedly circumvent the NBA salary cap by investing in a fraudulent environmental start-up, Aspiration. The team is also off to a disastrous 6-17 start and is expected to be one of the more active trade partners ahead of the 2025-26 NBA Trade Deadline, less than two months away.

Led by Leonard and James Harden, the Clippers are the league’s eldest team. Though they do have a slew of veterans on expiring contracts that could garner some interest as the Clippers look to trim salary and acquire draft capital.

While the league is still probing the possibility of the Clippers circumventing the cap, don’t be surprised if the Clippers try to find new homes for their two stars, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.

“Some sources have indicated that the Clippers could try to move up their free agency timeline from the 2027 offseason to next summer,” he wrote. “Which would require finding trade partners with cap room to take on Harden ($42 million player option for 2026-27) and Leonard (owed $50 million in 2026-27).

“The feedback from league insiders has been that, while a team would take on Harden, it may be more difficult to find a landing spot for Leonard because of his injury and the Aspiration case still ongoing.”

Why the Miami Heat should not pursue Kawhi Leonard:

While there’s no substantive reporting to indicate the Miami Heat have serious interest, ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel did recently link the 13-time All-Star to them.

We could also assume Miami would (rightfully) do its due diligence because, well, Leonard’s a premier talent (when healthy).

Let’s explain why it should stay away.

Leonard’s perceived value is lower than most stars around the league. There’s good reason for that.

Forget the scandal (except you can’t if you’re acquiring a player woven in one), Leonard is a less-than-viable health bet. The NBA postseason isn’t just about who’s the best team; it’s about who’s the healthiest.

Due to multiple lower-body injuries, Leonard has only played 69.4 percent of his available games since arriving in Los Angeles … if you don’t count the entirety of 2021-22, which he missed after tearing his ACL. Including that, the number craters to 57.8 percent.

Leonard has since torn his meniscus while dealing with chronic knee inflammation, which kept him out of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

For a star who accounts for 32.3 percent of the team’s salary cap, that’s not enough. The Clippers mortgaged their entire future for Leonard (and Paul George), and it blew up in their faces.

Matching salary will also be difficult for the Heat. Both Miami and Los Angeles are hard-capped below the first apron. The Clippers are $1.23 million away, while the Heat are $7.2 million away.

The Heat’s expirings are Terry Rozier — whose contract is untradable — Norman Powell (who they just salary dumped) and Simone Fontecchio. Davion Mitchell, Tyler Herro and Andrew Wiggins all have one additional year.

Siegel’s Wiggins/Rozier idea isn’t legally possible because that would push Los Angeles past the hard cap. Also, once again, nobody is taking on Rozier’s $26.6 million. Would it make sense for either side to entertain a combination of Wiggins/Mitchell/Jovic (poison pill)/Jaquez/Jakucionis for an injury-prone star?! I don’t think so.

Every trade carries a degree a risk. Yes, Leonard’s a good player who’s shown he’s capable of leading a team to a championship. But that was damn near seven years ago, and he’ll never be the same 1.) athletically and 2.) physically that he was then.

Miami is ripe for a consolidation trade, but one that carries as much short- and long-term risk as Leonard does shouldn’t be an option at this stage of his career.

Why Heat should veer away from Kawhi Leonard – Hot Hot Hoops

Tags: