Mavericks-Kawhi Leonard rumors terrifyingly echo Nico Harrison's costly vision

In a rumor coming out of left field, the Dallas Mavericks have registered interest in trading for 35-year-old superstar Kawhi Leonard, but Dallas must avoid this trap at all costs, as this is a move of similar ilk to what Nico Harrison would've done when he was GM of the Mavericks.

Of course, if Dallas could get Leonard at a bargain, such as a scenario where they don't give up more than one future first-round pick to get him, then this would be a worthy gamble. However, Leonard is coming off the highest-scoring season of his career and made the All-NBA Second Team last season, so it'd be shocking if he doesn't command a huge asking price, despite his age.

Dallas trading for Kawhi would mirror Harrison's Luka Doncic trade

Harrison was the type of GM who would accelerate a team's timeline at all costs instead of competing in the interim, even if it completely sacrificed his team's future. This isn't to say Masai Ujiri and company would make as terrible a value proposition as Harrison's Luka Doncic trade was if they were to trade for Leonard, but there's no denying it would be a move that completely disregards building around Cooper Flagg for the future.

Dallas would have to rinse whatever remaining future first-round picks and swaps they could muster in an effort to land Leonard, and this simply wouldn't be worth it unless they won an NBA Championship or two in the next few years.

Worst of all, there's no denying that the Leonard-to-Dallas rumors have some credibility based on the history of Dallas' front office. Ujiri made a gamble by trading DeMar DeRozan for Leonard in the middle of Leonard's prime back in 2018, and it obviously resulted in Ujiri and Leonard winning a championship together, so there's clearly some incentive on Ujiri's part to trade for Leonard once again.

Leonard is an elite talent, but he's not worth sacrificing the future for

A trio of Kyrie Irving, Leonard, and Flagg is absolutely tantalizing in theory, but based on the injury histories of Irving and Leonard, this would be quite the gamble by Ujiri and Dallas' new front office. Mavericks fans have hope for Flagg, Irving, and Anthony Davis together, but that trio never saw the floor together because of Davis' inability to stay on the court, so there's no denying this situation is giving deja vu to the way Harrison built the Mavericks in the post-Doncic era.

If there's one thing Mavericks fans can feel at ease about, it seems practically impossible that someone like Ujiri wouldn't nickel-and-dime the Clippers to make the best deal possible if he traded for Leonard, which is something Harrison didn't do whatsoever when he traded Doncic.

However, Mavericks fans aren't too far removed from that big tragedy in 2024, and there's no denying a trade for Leonard would be met with mass skepticism by the fanbase due to Harrison's past, especially with Dallas likely having to mortgage their future around Flagg to make it happen.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow