LOS ANGELES — While addressing media members on Wednesday night, Clippers star Kawhi Leonard kept coming back to the word “business.”
As in his reaction to the stunning trade, made official Wednesday afternoon, that sent 36-year-old James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers – that night’s opponent, coincidentally – in exchange for 26-year-old Darius Garland.
“It was shocking, but this is the NBA,” Leonard said. “You know, it’s business, and that’s what comes first.”
And this now seems eerie. During that conversation Ramona Shelburne of ESPN asked Kawhi if, since he’s the only one left from what was to be a championship contending triumvirate with Harden and Paul George, this might feel like the end of an era.
“I mean, if that’s how you guys put it,” he said. “Players coming in and out all the time throughout organizations. Like I said, it’s the NBA. We know why these guys left, and I wish them the best of luck. I tried to help (Harden) stay, but business calls.”
Early Thursday, about a half hour before the league’s noon PT trading deadline, that era – such as it was – seemed to be receding further into the rear view mirror when news broke that Ivica Zubac would be going to Indiana, along with Kobe Brown, for players Bennedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson, first-round draft picks in 2026 (heavily protected) and ’29 and a 2028 second-rounder.
When the Harden trade became public knowledge, the spin seemed to be that it was talent for talent and the Clippers, who had overcome a horrendous start to pull into the play-in zone, weren’t rebuilding as much as pivoting to a younger, faster-paced unit.
The reality – the business reality – said otherwise, or at least said more. Harden still had trade value plus a large contract option for 2026-27. Young guys such as Kobe Sanders and Jordan Miller have cracked the rotation. And while coming back from a 6-21 start to actually compete for a championship – or at least make noise in the postseason – would be a great Cinderella story, reality tends to be far more harsh.
So is the business of basketball. Logic says that taking a step back and starting to move away from a group that, truth be told, has underachieved during this seven-year era is not only worthwhile but necessary.
(Remember Steve Ballmer bellowing about winning the “Larry O’B” at the gathering to welcome Leonard and George in July of 2019? So do I. I wonder if Ballmer now wishes that moment could be flushed down the memory hole.)
There are still things to play for, and scoring a playoff spot or at least a play-in opportunity out of the ashes of 6-21 might be an achievement in itself. But the Clippers have to face the future, and the draft picks they’ve added in the last couple of days at least are making a dent in the draft deficit caused by the trade for George. They sent six first-round picks to Oklahoma City in that deal, and the last of those is in play this year.
And, naturally, in light of the Clippers’ other deals the speculation turned to Leonard, who is the team’s resident star but whose tenure back home in SoCal has been frequently interrupted by injuries and non-availability. (And, early this season, became a focus of controversy with the allegations that the Clippers had attempted to circumvent salary cap rules on his behalf.)
Clippers management celebrated in 2019 when Leonard, who had just won his second NBA title – and second Finals MVP honor – with Toronto, signed with them. But the magic didn’t transfer here, and it’s only natural that the chattering class would wonder if the Clippers might part ways with Leonard beyond this season, in much the same manner as the speculation of whether LeBron James will remain a Laker after the season ends.
Leonard is signed for one season beyond this at $50.3 million, by the way.
The Harden trade might have been a stunner to others on the Clippers’ roster, but he was a willing participant and in fact worked with management to help facilitate the deal.
More often than not at this time of the year, though, players have reason to be nervous until the deadline passes. Consider, for example: Zubac was not available for Wednesday night’s 124-91 loss to Cleveland because he and his wife had just welcomed their first child into the world. Thursday morning, he learned he’s headed to Indianapolis.
Do you wonder why players are glued to their phones even more as the deadline approaches? The stress can be particularly oppressive for a young player, but veterans like Zubac and their families have more to deal with in the event of a midseason trade.
“Guys handle it differently,” Clippers coach Ty Lue said. “Some guys have anxiety and thinking about it, it’s hard to play. But I can’t speak and tell a guy how to feel. Especially when you have kids, you’ve been here or whatever, kids are in school, and you gotta get uprooted and leave.”
Just the change of cities or environments can be “tough for most guys,” he added. And when the band of brothers that makes up a team is disrupted with additions and departures, that can be traumatic as well.
But “when you go through it yourself, when your name is always in trade rumors, as it has been for me, you just sort of just learn how to block it out and focus in on the game,” said forward John Collins, an eight-year veteran. “Obviously, it’s just that time of year where you never know what could happen. So (there’s) even more emphasis to just stay locked in on what we got going on here.”
But what if the mission changes, and the organization turns from all-out going for it to a form of retrenching? Part of the logic surrounding the Clippers’ pre-deadline moves – which also included the long-awaited Chris Paul trade, to Toronto in a three-way deal with Brooklyn – was to create breathing room under the cap, some of which could be used immediately to sign two-way contract players Sanders and Miller to standard NBA deals.
“Stuff’s gonna change,” Collins said.
That’s life in the NBA. As that oft-repeated line from “The Godfather” reminds us, it’s not personal. (Not usually, anyway.)
It’s business, always.
jalexander@scng.com