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Kawhi Leonard #2, and James Harden #1 of the LA Clippers sit on the bench during their preseason game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on October 15, 2025 in Sacramento, California.
The LA Clippers reportedly have no intention to move either Kawhi Leonard or James Harden ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, the Clippers have abandoned plans of “hosting a fire sale” of their roster ahead of the deadline, and instead prefer to add firepower around Harden and Leonard in their playoff push.
“If anything, league sources say the Clippers are expected to explore the prospect of adding an impact player around Harden and Kawhi Leonard as a way to revive their season in the second half,” Amick reported on Dec. 31.
Amick highlighted that the Clippers can potentially package the expiring contracts of John Collins ($26.5M), Brook Lopez ($8.7M) and Nicolas Batum ($5.6M) to seek roster upgrades. Even Bogdan Bogdanovic, who has a $16M Player Option for next season, can be used in a potential deal for a high-impact player in the coming weeks.
Clippers Midseason Turnaround
The chatter of the Clippers potentially trading Leonard and/or Harden began after they started the season 6-21. Since they owe their 2026 first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder, some floated the likelihood of the Clippers blowing up their roster to collect young players and draft assets to begin a rebuild.
However, those plans have seemingly died down in recent weeks, with Tyronn Lue’s men going on a five-game winning streak. And it hasn’t just been an ordinary streak — the Clippers have demolished opponents by an average margin of 21.0 points, making NBA history in the process. The recent surge has allowed the Clippers to creep within just 2.5 games of the 10th-seeded Portland Trail Blazers for the final play-in spot.
James Harden Has Not Asked Out
Even more so than Kawhi Leonard — who is viewed as a negative asset around the league due to his injury history — there was a lot of chatter about Harden being moved.
Amick confirmed that Harden never asked out of the Clippers during their horrific 27-game start to the season, and remains committed to his hometown franchise. “The Beard” infamously forced trades out of his three previous destinations, the Houston Rockets, the Brooklyn Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers, before getting to Los Angeles.
“James Harden, in particular, was often discussed in league circles as someone who might want to relocate (again) to a more competitive environment,” wrote Amick.
“The 36-year-old has complete control over his situation, as his Bird rights contract affords him the right to veto any trade this season (he has a player option worth $42.3 million for next season). Still, team and league sources say there are no signs yet that Harden wants out.”
The Clippers have only Ivica Zubac under contract beyond the 2026-27 season, with insiders expecting them to make a big splash in the 2027 summer when they could have in excess of $120M in cap space. They strategically prefer for Leonard, Harden and all their veterans to come off the books in 2027, when the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns and Donovan Mitchell could all become free agents.
Amick noted that the Clippers’ 2027 plan could restrict them from making any big moves ahead of this trade deadline or over the summer.
“The Clippers have long prioritized salary-cap flexibility starting in the summer of 2027, meaning they’d be very reluctant to take on contracts that extend past that point.”
Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan
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