Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers
The two teams that have been linked to Leonard the most frequently in trade rumors are the Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers. Obviously, either scenario presents the California native and San Diego State alum with the option of remaining in his birth state. On top of that, both the Warriors and Lakers are going to enter the 2026-27 season as playoff contenders thanks to the status of Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic.
Due to their sibling rivalry, the Clippers would likely prefer to avoid trading Leonard to the Lakers in particular. However, if the ball winds up in Leonard’s court, he might not want to join either franchise. For those that don’t remember, the rumored reason Leonard signed with the Clippers rather than the Lakers during his 2019 free agency was his desire to build a legacy without being in LeBron James‘s shadow. To be clear, there are many that believe James has played his last season with the Lakers. Nevertheless, while neither Curry nor Doncic’s are quite as big as James, they can still eclipse Leonard.
