Mavericks Pushing for Kawhi Leonard Trade as Masai Ujiri Reunites With His ‘Klaw’ Past.

Masai Ujiri isn’t even officially in the building yet, and he’s already working the phones. The incoming Dallas Mavericks president has the Clippers on speed dial, and the target is Kawhi Leonard. According to a report from The Athletic’s Sam Amick, Christian Clark, and Dan Wolke, the two sides have discussed a deal that would send Leonard to Dallas for a package built around P.J. Washington, Klay Thompson, and draft picks. League sources granted anonymity to describe those talks, which are still in progress.

This isn’t some random rumor. Ujiri and Leonard have history. Real history. Ujiri was the guy who traded for Leonard back in 2018 when Leonard was still with the Spurs, shipped DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl to San Antonio, and watched it all pay off with Toronto’s only NBA title the next spring. Leonard won Finals MVP that year. Ujiri won executive of the year talk. They haven’t worked together since, but clearly the connection is still there.

The timing makes some sense. Leonard is on the books for $50.3 million this season, with one year left on his deal after that. The Clippers have been stuck in neutral for a while now, and moving Leonard would clear major cap space while bringing back a useful forward in Washington and a future Hall of Fame shooter in Thompson. For Dallas, adding another two-way star next to Kyrie Irving and rookie phenom Cooper Flagg — who just won Rookie of the Year — would vault them right back into title contention.

The Kyrie Effect

Irving is the only other NBA Finals champ in that locker room right now. Pair him with Leonard, and suddenly Dallas has two guys who know exactly what it takes to win in June. Irving’s playmaking and Leonard’s two-way dominance would give the Mavs a different kind of identity than the Luka Doncic years. It’s a reset, but a calculated one.

Also worth noting: Dallas hired former Michigan head coach Dusty May to run the bench. So you’ve got a new front office boss, a new coach, and potentially a new superstar in the building. That’s a lot of change for one offseason.

Why Now?

Money is the simplest answer. The Clippers are looking at a luxury tax bill that gets worse every year Leonard stays healthy — or doesn’t. He’s played 68 games or more only once in the last six seasons. Moving him now, while he still has value, lets LA reset without bottoming out completely. Washington is 26, Thompson can still shoot the lights out, and picks are picks.

For Ujiri, this is a chance to prove he can do it again. He pulled off the original Kawhi heist, won a ring, and left Toronto with his reputation intact. Now he walks into Dallas with the same kind of swing-for-the-fences mentality. The Mavs haven’t confirmed anything. The Clippers haven’t commented. But the conversations are real, and that alone makes this the most interesting trade rumor of the early offseason.