The Los Angeles Clippers could make quite the splash ahead of the NBA draft.

According to NBA reporter Marc Stein, there is a belief from some rival teams that Los Angeles is "attempting to gauge Paul George's trade value and, to hear some describe it, giving real consideration to the idea of disassembling the Kawhi Leonard/George tandem."

Stein pointed to the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets, who have the Nos. 3 and 4 picks respectively in Thursday's draft, as potential landing spots should the Clippers look to make such a blockbuster move.

Los Angeles could be at something of a crossroads.

It shifted into championship-or-bust mode as soon as it paired Leonard with George ahead of the 2019-20 season, but it has not advanced past the Western Conference Finals during that span. Durability in particular has been an issue, as Leonard missed that 2021 Western Conference Finals loss to the Phoenix Suns.

This past season, Leonard suffered a knee injury during the team's first-round loss to the Suns. George missed the entire series with his own knee issue.

"Complicating matters further: Both Leonard and George are soon eligible for four-year contract extensions worth in excess of $200 million," Stein wrote. "Both players can become free agents next summer if they decline their respective player options for the 2024-25 season."

The Clippers must decide if it is worth paying two players in their 30s with injury concerns or perhaps changing directions with a trade for a pick they could use to reset the franchise.

That Portland is potentially connected isn't surprising, as trading the No. 3 pick for someone like George would indicate a willingness to shift into win-now mode with the 32-year-old Damian Lillard.

Simply running things back with a high-profile rookie such as Scoot Henderson or Brandon Miller wouldn't line up with Lillard's presumed timeline as he enters the back end of his prime, and a pairing with George could make the Trail Blazers much more dangerous in the Western Conference in the immediate future.

As for Houston, it has some building blocks in place with Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr., and George could be something of a veteran leader for the team under new head coach Ime Udoka.