Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler are two of the most sought-after players on the free agent market.
However, it appears that the talented duo could envision playing on the same team. According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Butler and Leonard could be interested in playing together with the Los Angeles Clippers.
There are many scenarios seemingly in play, but sources say one in particular looks increasingly possible: Butler teaming up with Leonard on the Clippers. There are strong indications that Leonard is interested in having Butler as a running mate, and it's the sort of powerful pairing that would certainly vault the Clippers into contention.
Leonard is fresh off of his first season with the Toronto Raptors which was capped off with an NBA title. The star forward recently declined his $21.3 million player option for the 2019-20 season and now will become an unrestricted free agent.
Throughout the process, the Clippers have been billed as one of the top possibilities as far as landing spots for Leonard go. After all, Leonard is originally from Los Angeles and played his college ball at San Diego State before being drafted by the San Antonio Spurs.
Meanwhile, Butler is also a hot commodity with the Houston Rockets recently expressing interest in convincing Butler to sign with the franchise. If the Rockets were to land Butler, they would need to do a sign-and-trade with the Sixers and have made Clint Capela, Eric Gordon, and P.J. Tucker available.
In addition, the Rockets are attempting to acquire a first-round pick from another team that they could flip to the Sixers. Philadelphia will also have to worry about re-signing Tobias Harris to a max contract after acquiring the versatile forward at the trade deadline this past season.
The Clippers were a playoff team last season and certainly could skyrocket into the upper echelon of the Western Conference if they were able to land the combination of Butler and Leonard.
