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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 31: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the LA Clippers reacts in the third quarter during their game against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center on March 31, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. 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 Jacob Kupferman\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The New York Knicks<\/a> will have a great chance of acquiring Kawhi Leonard<\/a> at the trade deadline this summer if they fall short in the playoffs. Leonard\u2019s future has become a top NBA story to follow due to many pundits expecting the Los Angeles Clippers<\/a> to finally trade him. New York is expected to make big changes via the trade block if they fall short of making the NBA<\/a> Finals.<\/p>\n Fadeaway World reported the following trade package<\/a> would be the best that the Clippers could expect from the Knicks:<\/p>\n \u201cNew York Knicks Receive: Kawhi Leonard<\/p>\n Los Angeles Clippers Receive: Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, Pacome Dadiet, 2032 first-round pick<\/p>\n A Brunson-Towns-Leonard core would give the Knicks far more half-court shot creation than they have now, and OG Anunoby would still be there to keep the defensive wing structure intact. My read is simple: if the Knicks ever decide to turn Bridges into a bigger playoff ceiling, this is the version that actually makes sense on the numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n New York would have to sacrifice losing two starters for the chance at upgrading with another All-NBA player on the roster. The trio of Jalen Brunson<\/a>, Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a>, and Leonard would give the Knicks three consistent All-Stars. Even more important, New York would keep OG Anunoby<\/a> as another lockdown defender with Kawhi.<\/p>\n Clippers Would Improve Team\u2019s Future With Trade<\/p>\n This trade package makes sense for the Knicks to keep their three best players and add someone arguably better than anyone on the roster. However, the Clippers would have to settle for falling back a little next season after losing their established face of the franchise to set up a brighter future.<\/p>\n Mikal Bridges<\/a> and Josh Hart<\/a> would give them two reliable players to add with recently acquired Darius Garland<\/a> and Bennedict Mathurin<\/a> as their core pieces moving forward. The Clippers would have a new lineup with flexibility for the future and more youth on their side.<\/p>\n Pacome Dadiet<\/a> and a future first round draft pick would add some pieces for the future to give the Clippers more assets moving forward. Both teams would get what they desire from a trade without having to sacrifice their respective goals.<\/p>\n Knicks May Have Eyes On Bigger Prize<\/p>\n The Knicks are considered one of the strongest favorites to land Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> if he ends up on the trade block. Antetokounmpo reportedly named New York as his only destination last summer before the Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> talked him into staying longer.<\/p>\n Expect the Knicks to look for Giannis and any other bigger stars with more reliability than Leonard if they are available on the trade block. Kawhi makes sense if he\u2019s the best player on the market since he comes at a cheaper price that allows the team to keep their best talents.<\/p>\n A trade for a bigger star would likely require giving up Towns or Anunoby and more than one first round draft pick. Leonard gives them a proven all-time great to improve the \u201cwin now\u201d mindset, while keeping the team intact with more assets for the future. The Clippers could find a perfect trade partner in the Knicks if New York has a disappointing playoff exit.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJoey Haverford<\/a> Joey Haverford is a seasoned sports content writer with over 12 years of experience. He has covered the NBA, WNBA, MLB, NFL, and professional wrestling in the sports industry. More about Joey Haverford<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Knicks\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 31: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the LA Clippers reacts in the third…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":714965,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3789],"tags":[7,559,4034,192,4032,251,135,4033,4031,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-714964","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-clippers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-clippers","10":"tag-la","11":"tag-la-clippers","12":"tag-laclippers","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-clippers","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-losangelesclippers","17":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116440590824014733","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/714965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}