Amid a disastrous start to the 2025-26 season for the Los Angeles Clippers, there has been speculation about the future of James Harden and Kawhi Leonard.

But according to NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Clippers don’t plan to trade away their two stars at the moment.

“Sources say that the Clippers, furthermore, are continuing — at least for the moment — to push back on suggestions that established veterans like James Harden or Kawhi Leonard will be made available,” Fischer wrote.

The Clippers have started the season 7-21 despite strong play from both Harden and Leonard. Harden is putting up 25.8 points, 8.2 assists and 5.2 boards per game while Leonard, who has missed 10 games, is averaging 25.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and a pair of steals per game.

Harden, 36, signed a two-year, $81.5 million contract to stay with the Clippers this offseason after declining a $36.3 million player option. That move reportedly was, in part, to keep him aligned with Leonard, who is under contract through 2027.

While the Clippers reportedly haven’t given other teams any indication that they plan to move on from either Harden or Leonard, insider Marc Stein reported earlier this week that one executive expects Harden “to wind up in trade play at some point this winter.”

ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported earlier this month that Los Angeles has “indicated” a willingness to move their capspace timeline up to 2026 from 2027 and could try to rid itself of Harden and Leonard’s contracts.

“There are a lot of ways to use cap space, and if they don’t believe in this core they could really turn their team over in a year if they got flexibility,” Bontemps wrote. “You look at what they figured out in Phoenix. They had a team that was too old and turned over that roster and it changed their entire outlook.”

As for the value Harden and Leonard hold, Bontemps noted that one scout said Harden has “maybe a neutral value” while Leonard has “negative value” at this point.

Those descriptions make sense for Harden and Leonard. Harden is still plenty productive, but is ultimately an aging star, and Leonard is great when healthy, but hasn’t played more than 70 games in almost 10 years.

The Clippers don’t appear to be championship contenders this year, so the best move might be to try to trade their stars and begin looking toward the future.