With the Clippers facing a colossal punishment and confirmation that Kawhi Leonard won’t be facing a void contract or a lengthy suspension, we couldn’t be any closer to finally settling the long-awaited Clippers–Raptors trade. While the basketball world’s hot topics right now include the Clippers’ significant loss of draft capital (five first-round picks in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033), the investigation’s conclusion/findings, and hype for Kawhi Leonard in Raptors Nation getting real — it’s important to remember the other moving pieces involved, Gradey Dick and Brandon Ingram.
A couple of days ago, I examined the implications of this trade for Gradey Dick, noting that his future in LA isn’t entirely certain for a variety of reasons — mainly the Clippers’ likely need to trim the roster before the season starts and him looking near the chopping block. Meanwhile, Ingram’s inclusion in the deal may seem like he's a lock to stick around with the Clips as the player centerpiece of this deal. But as my Raptors Rapture colleague Elaine Blum just pointed out, the “Notorious B.I.3” could go on to be another trade chip for LA to help ease some of the draft pick pain, at least to a modest degree.
In light of this buzzing news, Yossi Gozlan of the Third Apron Podcast discussed the trade drama and investigation fallout in an emergency episode with Sam Quinn of CBS Sports. They touched on the possibility of LA leveraging Brandon Ingram to take on worse money or assets, in exchange for a first-round pick. While this pivot alone could add an intriguing layer to an already unprecedented trade (especially given how tough it’s been to reach the finish line), it gets even juicier when you consider the team and front office executive who could throw their name into the mix after the deal: Masai Ujiri and the Dallas Mavericks.
Masai Ujiri could influence the next phase of Raptors–Clippers Kawhi Leonard trade fallout
Gozlan said in the episode (YouTube link here): “[…] I think the challenge with Ingram is if you're going to get a first, yes, value in that is taking on worse money, but I think you also need a team to want Ingram. And he's not an easy player to slot into a lot of systems. So I just look around, who's a team who was very interested in Ingram? The Raptors under Masai Ujiri. Maybe in the future there could be something done where they trade a low-value first and you just take like a combination of guys like Caleb Martin, PJ [Washington], one of PJ or [Daniel] Gafford, something like that. So it’s a bit of a consolidation trade if that's something the Mavericks are interested in.”
Funny enough, it wasn’t that long ago that, given the Mavericks’ current roster puzzle and the Masai connection, I considered the Raptors potentially holding the key to solving that problem. In fact, two of the names I mentioned earlier (Caleb Martin and Daniel Gafford) were players I suggested could be part of a trade for the Raptors’ hometown wing, RJ Barrett, whose future in this Toronto outlook still appears uncertain.
In this hypothetical scenario, seeing Brandon Ingram once again on the move, Masai Ujiri might revisit his past interest in the Notorious B.I.3 and look to tap into some of that potential in Dallas. You could argue about who is the more intriguing asset for Masai’s Mavericks — RJ Barrett or Brandon Ingram? But one thing’s for sure: knowing Ujiri, he loves the forward/wing archetype and tends to lean toward that type of player.
Personally, I really like Daniel Gafford as a fit for the Raptors (despite his injury concerns), and seeing him go to the Clippers would be a missed opportunity to upgrade at center. If Toronto could re-engage with LA and orchestrate a deal that sends Gafford to the Six (perhaps moving Jakob Poeltl along with a pick) — that would be ideal, at least in my view.
That said, given the Clippers’ relatively weak frontcourt, there’s a good chance Gafford would be welcomed with open arms, especially since he’s still solid enough to step in as their interim starting center for as long as they need. Poeltl might not inspire the same level of confidence, but with their expected focus on acquiring as many draft picks as they can, who knows what could happen as the season unfolds?
And honestly, this lines up with Masai Ujiri’s track record, especially back to his Raptors days. He’s known for swooping in to take a chance on players whose interest and value around the league may have dipped — hoping to rejuvenate their careers. It’s had mixed results in the past, but don’t count out Masai Ujiri trying — if he does, we might see an even longer list of moving pieces in the aftermath of the initial trade between LA and Toronto.
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