Kawhi Leonard declined to talk about his future with the Los Angeles Clippers after they were eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in the play-in game.

The Warriors defeated the Clippers 126-121. Reporters asked whether Leonard plans to stay with the Clippers after this season, but he declined to answer.

“Let me cry about this loss a little bit more,” Leonard said.

Leonard scored 21 points in the loss. Benedict Mathurin led the Clippers in scoring with 23 points. Darius Garland also scored 21, while shooting better than Leonard from the field.

In the 2026-27 season, Leonard will be in the last year of his three-year, $149 million extension with the Clippers. He will be 35 at the end of next season.

Leonard joined the Clippers during the 2019 offseason. He signed with the Clippers after they made a massive trade to get Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was sent to the Thunder for George. George left the Clippers during the 2024 offseason to join the Philadelphia 76ers.

However, Leonard was not left without a star. In the 2023-24 season, the Clippers made a trade for James Harden. Entering this season, the Clippers looked to build around the star duo of Leonard and Harden. However, Harden requested a trade at the deadline and was sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

This leaves Leonard on the Clippers without another star. The last time he was unhappy with his situation was with the San Antonio Spurs in 2018. He requested a trade and was sent to the Toronto Raptors. 

Leonard has not officially requested a trade from the Clippers, but teams like the Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat have already shown interest in trading for him. 

The Clippers do not own their first-round pick outright until 2030. Getting draft assets would be a priority. 

All-Star Paul George wanted to remain an L.A. Clipper, but he felt the organization “disrespected” him through the first contract offer.

During a segment on Podcast P with Paul George, the guard made it clear he wanted to stay in Los Angeles. “L.A. is home. This is where I wanted to finish, and I wanted to work as hard as possible to win a title in L.A.,” George commented. “As it played out, though, the first offer was kind of disrespectful, no hard feelings.”

The 76ers swayed the all-star in with a four-year, $212 million contract in the opening days of free agency.

George stated that he and his representatives opened discussions with Los Angeles in October 2023, but months later, the 34-year-old was offered a deal averaging $44 million. In January, the Clippers extended Kawhi Leonard for three years, worth $152 million. After learning of his former teammate’s extension, George wanted a deal similar to Leonard’s. “Just give me what Kawhi got,” the All-Star said. “Y’all view us the same. We came here together. We want to finish this together.”

According to George, the Clippers pitched an offer of three years, $150 million after the season, identical to his former teammate’s extension, but the guard desired a no-trade clause. Los Angeles then countered with a four-year deal worth $212 million with a no-trade clause. George declined the agreement and tested free agency.

“I thought I did enough to earn that contract. They didn’t want to do it, so it was a stalemate. I love [owners] Steve Balmer, I love Lawerence Frank, but at that point, it didn’t feel right to come back,” George said.

In 74 games, the 34-year-old was close to a 40-50-90 shooting campaign, making 47.1% from the field, 41.3% beyond the arc and converting 90.7% of free throws.