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Weeks before surgery to his partially torn right ACL, two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard declined his $ 36 million option with the Los Angeles Clippers for the 2021-2022 season, entering free agency league sources told Yahoo Sports Chris Haynes. Leonard and the Clippers are expected to strike a new deal to keep him in Los Angeles, sources said.
Leonard is eligible for a starting salary of 35% of the salary cap, or $ 39 million, which made the decision easy for one of the game’s most coveted players, although he may not be able to. play at all next season. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer will pay whatever it takes to keep Leonard, given the investment the multi-billionaire made to pair Leonard with fellow All-Star Paul George just two summers ago.
Freshly injured in Achilles in the 2019 playoffs, Kevin Durant left the Golden State Warriors on a four-year, $ 164 million contract with the Brooklyn Nets, who knew full well the former MVP would not play the first season of his contract. Leonard is in a similar situation, and LA also runs the risk of losing him to free agency.
“Right now our focus, like Kawhi, like his, is on his health,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said following his team’s productive draft on Thursday. “He had major surgery. He tore his ACL. It’s going to take a long time and we want to support him in that regard.
Leonard is now eligible for a contract worth up to $ 175 million over the next four years. If he were to re-sign for $ 39 million in Los Angeles this season and return to free agency next summer, when the Clippers own all rights to Bird, Leonard could get a maximum five-year contract approaching 250 million. of dollars.
Ahead of last season, the ever-wary Leonard told reporters: “I’m not saying I’m going anywhere else or staying here, but just focusing on the season. Obviously, if I’m healthy, the best decision is to deny the player option, but that doesn’t mean I’m leaving or staying. ” He is not in good health, and it may not matter.
The Clippers traded rising star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and their 2022-26 first-round draft rights with the Oklahoma City Thunder for George in 2019. It was a move to satisfy Leonard’s desire for a star partner in LA, if he were to leave a Toronto Raptors team he had just led to the title. It also tied the Clippers’ hopes for the foreseeable future to Leonard and George’s willingness to stay in Los Angeles beyond this summer.
George signed an extension in December that will net him $ 190 million over the next four years.
Leonard and George’s tenures on the Clippers have not yielded the desired results. They lost a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the 2020 Western Conference semifinals, resulting in their coach being sacked and a roster revamped around their two stars. Leonard’s injury in Game 4 of their second-round series against the Phoenix Suns last season put an end to any serious hope of avenging their failure in the bubble.
Leonard averaged 24.8 points (on 51/40/89 shooting spreads), 6.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 34.1 minutes in 52 games last season, often requiring rest for the Chronic tendinopathy of his quadriceps of the right knee.
It wouldn’t be out of the question for Leonard to envision a brighter future for basketball elsewhere, but LA is his home, he will be rehabilitating all season long, and he can make more money with the Clippers than anyone. more next summer. The decision seems clear, but no one in the NBA is more opaque than Leonard.
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