The perfect offseason target just became available for the Pistons

The LA Clippers were unceremoniously bounced from the postseason last night, which may make Kawhi Leonard available this summer, and if that’s the case, the Detroit Pistons may be interested. 

It’s too early to know how Detroit will enter the offseason, as an early exit from the playoffs may have them star hunting this summer, while a deep run may give Trajan Langdon the confidence to run it back with moderate changes. 

If we are just looking at players on paper, there would be few in the league who would be a better fit than Kawhi, who provides all of the secondary scoring and creation the Pistons need while also playing elite defense. If Leonard wanted to chase titles in the latter stages of his career, Detroit would be a great place for it.

However, there are huge challenges to landing a player like Kawhi, some of which the Pistons will have in any pursuit of a genuine star player. 

The elephant in the room with Kawhi Leonard 

Kawhi will be 35 years old before next season starts, and though he played 65 games this season, he has a storied injury history that everyone is aware of. 

Prior to this season, Kawhi had only played over 60 games once in the previous eight years, so even though he is still producing at an All-NBA level, he’s not a guy you can count on, and that is only going to get worse. 

The last time Kawhi played over 60 games and made the All-Star team, he played 37 games the next season, so buyer beware. 

Making the money work will be the biggest challenge for the Pistons 

Kawhi will be making $50 million next season, so finding that much salary to send back will be a challenge for the Pistons considering they only have one player on a big deal and that’s Cade Cunningham. 

The Pistons have been facing this challenge all season, as they’d have to send back 3-4 players to be able to match salaries for anyone on a big deal. 

And keep in mind they won’t have Tobias Harris’ expiring to use in that scenario, so even sending them Robinson, LeVert, Stewart and Holland wouldn’t be enough to match salaries. 

There are always ways to make the money work by getting other teams involved, but it doesn’t seem prudent for the Pistons to trade that many players for a 35-year-old who is always hurt, no matter how good he is. 

Kawhi Leonard doesn’t want to leave LA 

Kawhi spent the entire first part of his career trying to get traded to LA, so it’s doubtful he’ll want to play that far away from California in the final years of his career. 

It’s far more likely he ends up on the Lakers or Warriors than a move to the Midwest, and even if he agreed to it, there is no guarantee he’d be happy. Kawhi is a grumpy dude, and I can’t trade half my team for him if he’s not going to be bought in 100 percent. 

Kawhi is the perfect target in theory only, as there are too many red flags to make this a realistic possibility. 

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