Biggest Winner of Kawhi Leonard Trade Could Be This 19-Year-Old Guard

Kawhi Leonard had been mentioned in trade rumors for weeks. His contract was expiring with the Los Angeles Clippers, and the organization was seemingly headed in a different direction. But nobody saw him going back to the Toronto Raptors.

Yet, the Raptors pulled the trigger, acquiring the two-time Finals MVP on June 30 in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and future draft picks, a move that instantly shifted expectations for both franchises overnight.

But while everybody’s honing in on the Raptors as potential contenders in the East next year, another new name in LA may stand to benefit the most from the trade, Clippers rookie Keaton Wagler.

On Wednesday, ESPN’s Ben Golliver laid out some of the biggest names to watch as the 2026 NBA Summer League gets underway, and not only named Wagler among them, but pointed to him being the biggest beneficiary of the Leonard trade.

“Wagler was a big winner of the Clippers’ decision to trade Kawhi Leonard to the Raptors and embrace a youth movement. Rather than entering the NBA as a secondary priority for a veteran team facing playoff expectations, the 19-year-old guard should get more of an opportunity to learn on the job as part of a developing roster,” Golliver wrote. “Summer league play should shine a light on how ready Wagler is to contribute as a rookie.”

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Few rookies have seen their outlook change more dramatically over the last year than the 19-year-old Wagler.

A 6-foot-6 guard out of Shawnee, Kansas, he enjoyed a standout freshman year at Illinois, where he averaged 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game, shooting 44.5% from the field and 40% from deep on nearly six 3-point attempts per game. He started in all 37 games, averaging 33.9 minutes per game, and led the Fighting Illini to their first Final Four in 21 years.

That performance earned him consensus second-team All-American honors, first-team All-Big Ten honors, Big Ten Freshman Player of the Year, and the Jerry West Award, given out annually to the best shooting guard in college basketball.

Yet, surprisingly, before all of that, he arrived at Illinois as a mere three-star recruit who had just over a dozen offers.

Golliver pointed out both the pros and cons with Wagler. On the one hand, he led Illinois in both points and assists as a freshman, and the Illini had one of the best offenses in the country. On the other hand, nobody knew who he was a year ago.

That’s quite the gamble to take at No. 5 overall.

But the Clippers also just lost Leonard, who was the engine of the offense and averaged over 32 minutes per game last year. Those minutes need to go somewhere, and while Ingram will also benefit, the Clippers are clearly heading in a younger direction and were confident enough to trade away their best player and hand the keys to the franchise over to Wagler.

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This story was originally published July 8, 2026 at 8:01 PM.