Leonard commits future to Clippers with new contract extension
Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers have come to an agreement on a new contract.
Kawhi Leonard has re-upped with the LA Clippers for another three years, as reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The deal is for three guaranteed years that’ll take Leonard through the 2026-27 season.
Leonard declined his upcoming $48.8 million player option to sign the extension, solidifying the two-time Finals MVP as a mainstay with the Clippers as they open their brand-new Intuit Dome this summer.
“We’re thrilled to continue our relationship with Kawhi,” said Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank in a press release following the news.
“He is an elite player, a terrific partner and a relentless worker who knows how to win and makes it his first priority,” said Frank. “He elevated our franchise from the moment he arrived. We feel fortunate that Kawhi chose to join the Clippers five years ago, and excited to keep building with him.”
Leonard, 32, had a roller coaster 2022-23 season after missing the entirety of the previous campaign due to recovering from surgery that repaired his partially torn anterior cruciate ligament.
After coming off the bench in his first two appearances of 2022-23, Leonard missed the team’s next 12 games due to right knee injury management before returning for a three-game stint that was ended after suffering an ankle sprain. As a result, Leonard played in just five of the team’s first 24 games.
But after returning, Leonard showed what he was still capable of even just one year removed from major surgery. Over his final 35 games of last season, Leonard averaged 27.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.6 steals on 52.6 percent shooting while making 46.8 percent of his 5.3 3-point attempts per game.
“There was no hesitation with it,” said Frank on Wednesday when asked what gave him and the organization confidence to commit the three years and $153 million towards Leonard, a player with a non-minimal injury history.
“We acknowledged that he has been injured and injuries are part of the game. In this game, anybody can get injured, but not anyone can be a top-five player, and Kawhi is.”
Leonard has built off of that strong finish to last season by putting up 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists on 51.6 percent shooting across 32 games this season. Despite the injury questions surrounding Leonard, the forward has only missed four games thus far this season.
“We’ve had ongoing conversations throughout, and we were in contact, obviously, with Kawhi, but also with his representatives,” Frank said to gathered media ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Toronto Raptors. “It just made sense from both sides.”
The superstar forward has made an impact all season long and has seen an uptick in efficiency after the James Harden trade.
Since Dec. 8, Leonard has been averaging 27.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists on 57.6 percent shooting and had a streak of 13 consecutive games with at least 50 percent shooting in games where he attempted at least 14 field goals.
The Clippers tying their future to Leonard always seemed like a foregone conclusion, even despite the injuries. When he’s on the floor, Leonard is one of the game’s very best players, showing that over his years with the Clippers, especially in the playoffs.
In 26 postseason games with the Clippers, Leonard has averaged 29.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 2.2 steals on 52.8 percent shooting from the field. Leonard is one of four players since 2020 to average at least 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists on 50 percent shooting in the postseason.
“We both wanted the same thing,” said Frank.
Frank continued: “In any negotiation, you talk, you table it, you talk, you table it, but there was never any doubt that it was going to happen, it was just a matter of when. We circled up and spoke again to update where we were at. A wise man in sports told me this a long time ago about decision-making, ‘if it’s inevitable, do it.’ We knew this union was going to happen. We both wanted it to happen and we came to an agreement, let’s do it now.”
With Leonard’s piece of business now done, the gaze turns towards Clippers swingman Paul George to see if the two sides can likewise come to an agreement on a contract extension. Leonard's signing makes it a far likelier reality that George also ties his future to the organization.
“We talk with Paul daily, we talk with his representative Aaron Mintz,” Frank alluded to on Wednesday.
“We want Paul to be a Clipper, we are hopeful, but I can only speak from the Clipper side. Paul is an elite player and we hope to keep him a Clipper.”
Story updated at 7:34 PM PST to reflect new information.
