After a breakout season last year, the Detroit Pistons are flying at the top of the Eastern Conference, picking up a remarkable 28 wins in 38 games thus far. The Pistons have an extremely young core of exceptionally talented players, but one thing is missing: an experienced All-Star-caliber NBA championship winner.
According to Clutch Point’s Bailey Bassett, the Pistons could go in for a shock trade to acquire two-time NBA champion and Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard.
Detroit Pistons Gunning To Acquire Kawhi Leonard
At the beginning of 2024, the Los Angeles Clippers forward signed a three-year, $149,505,800 contract, keeping him on the West Coast until 2027. The six-time All-Star will be paid $50,000,000 this season and $50,300,000 next season, meaning it may cost the Pistons a lot of valuable assets to gain Leonard’s signature.
According to Bassett, the Pistons may look to ship Tobias Harris, Jaden Ivey, Chaz Lanier, Javonte Green, and one first-round pick to sign the 34-year-old veteran.
Can a deal even go through? In September 2025, the Clippers and their owner, Steve Ballmer, were under investigation after Leonard allegedly accepted a $28 million endorsement from a company called Aspiration to avoid the league’s salary cap.
Ballmer denied all allegations, but ESPN reported that the owner invested $50 million in Aspiration in September 2021, the same month the Clippers signed a $300 million deal with the company.
The deal has put Leonard’s trade future in murky waters, with it unclear whether the NBA will allow the two-time champion to leave the Clippers, given the circumstances.
If the deal can go ahead, it is the only chance that Leonard has to join a winning team that could make a deep playoff run before he retires.
The Clippers’ ageing roster has struggled for consistency this season, sitting 11th in the Western Conference with 15 wins and 23 losses to date.
Leonard’s injury history will be a cause for concern for the Pistons, having not played over 70 games in a season since playing for the San Antonio Spurs during the 2016/17 campaign.
However, if fully fit, there is no doubt that the Pistons can aim to win the championship this season, with Leonard playing 28 games and averaging 27.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.3 steals. The two-time Defensive Player of the Year can do it all, offensively and defensively, and would bring championship experience and know-how to a young, evolving Pistons team.
The Pistons need to decide whether they want to win now or continue developing their roster and leave Cade Cunningham in charge of bringing a championship back to Detroit for the first time since 2004.
