The 2025-26 season is getting away from the Los Angeles Clippers in one of the most shocking turn of events for this campaign. There were so many high expectations for this Clippers team heading into the new season after overhauling the roster and bolstering it with the veteran additions of John Collins, Chris Paul, Bradley Beal, and Brook Lopez, but everything has turned to crap this season for LA in a full display of Murphy's Law.
At the time of writing, the Clippers have a 6-20 record. That is such a steep downfall from where they were last season, when they finished with 50 wins and pushed the Denver Nuggets to seven games in the first round of the playoffs.
They looked like a dark-horse contender; now, they're looking likely to pull the trigger on a fire sale that would mark an end to this disappointing era of basketball that may have had plenty of hopeful moments but simply couldn't see them get over the hump.
Considering where they're sitting in the Western Conference standings (14th place, 4.5 games behind 10th), the Clippers could very well decide to sell even if they don't own their first-round pick in 2026. There aren't even any indications that this poor run of form isn't now the new norm.
The Clippers have the fifth-worst defense in the association, allowing 119.1 points per 100 possessions. They are allowing almost 10 points more per 100 compared to last season. Meanwhile, their offense ranks 20th in the league (scoring just 113.6 points per 100). Their net rating is -5.6, good for sixth-worst in the NBA).
Wholesale changes have to come for the Clippers. Their 2026 first-round pick is long gone. They cannot fall prey to the sunk cost fallacy. It's time for them to blow it up and start the process of building something new instead of waiting to hit rock bottom before taking action.
This is the deal the Clippers must pull off with trade season being underway.
It's time for the Clippers to say goodbye to Kawhi Leonard
Clippers acquire: Myles Turner, Kyle Kuzma, Ryan Rollins, 2031 unprotected first-round pick (MIL)
Bucks acquire: Kawhi Leonard, Brook Lopez, Chris Paul
[Trade is legal on January 15, 2026.]
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) passes the ball against Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić (15) during the first quarter at Intuit Dome.
© Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images
First and foremost, it has to be said that it would take a whole lot of convincing for the Clippers to trade Leonard away. This is the man Steve Ballmer has built his franchise around since 2019. They've done everything in their power to keep Leonard pleased, caving into whatever his demands may be, ludicrous or not, and Leonard also may not want to get away from this team even though they've been playing losing basketball.
But what the Clippers need at this point is a reset, a chance for them to turn the franchise around. Leonard is healthier than ever; he's playing heavy minutes and even suiting up in back-to-backs. His trade value may never be higher moving forward than it is now, and LA has to cash in.
Now, the definition of cashing in will vary from person to person. And it's rather unlikely that the Clippers would get a king's ransom for Leonard, who is no longer a spring chicken at 34 years old and is unlikely to get healthier the more he ages.
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In fact, some people around the NBA believe that Leonard has negative trade value and considering that he's making $50 million over this season and the next, that is not hard to believe. There aren't too many teams who have the ability to match salaries with the Clippers for Leonard that would also want to fork over real assets for a star with as much risk attached to him as the 34-year-old forward.
Leonard doesn't even guarantee a high floor of contention anymore; the Clippers have been struggling even though he's putting up numbers on a nightly basis. He's averaging over 25 points on 48/37/97 shooting splits, which is typical of him, but that hasn't translated to winning basketball which would turn off so many teams.
If the Clippers were to explore a Leonard trade, they will have to temper their expectations. Only teams who reek of desperation would want to explore acquiring Leonard. And there may not be a more desperate team than the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bucks are facing the threat of losing Giannis Antetokounmpo, whether via trade or via free agency in 2027. And according to reports, they are looking to pull off a big trade to try and improve the team to give further incentive for Giannis to stay.
The move to sign Myles Turner this past season wasn't it. Turner has never been a needle-mover anyway, only a very good player on good teams. And Turner has struggled in his new digs all season long.
The Bucks have to be very frustrated that they are paying around $47 million (when taking into account the dead money from Damian Lillard) for Turner's paltry production, especially as of late.
Leonard could be a star who helps turn things around for the Bucks. The Bucks need a Khris Middleton-esque running mate for Antetokounmpo, and Leonard does most of the things that Middleton did for the team in the past, but better.
With Kevin Porter Jr. becoming a very good player once again, the Bucks have to feel more confident about trading Ryan Rollins away. Rollins, in 22 games as a starter this season thus far, put up 16.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 6.2 assists while playing disruptive defense at the point of attack (1.4 steals per game).
He's only 23 years of age, making him a piece the Clippers could potentially build around. Acquiring Rollins and Turner gives the Clippers two assets that they could either keep (in the case of the former) or flip for more assets (in the case of the latter). Kyle Kuzma is simply in this trade to match salaries.
In this trade, the Clippers are also cutting Lopez and Paul loose. These two have fallen out of favor in Lue's eyes rather quickly, and at this point, restoring the harmony of the locker room is crucial for LA. The Bucks will need Lopez anyway if they were to trade Turner away, and Paul helps compensate for the loss of Rollins as a ballhandler for Milwaukee.