NBA free agency: Kawhi Leonard agrees to re-sign with Los Angeles Clippers
In a move that signals both trust with the Los Angeles Clippers’ roster and medical staff, Kawhi Leonard has agreed to re-sign with the franchise, a person familiar with the decision confirmed USA TODAY Sports. The person added the terms are still being negotiated.
Leonard can sign to as much as a four-year, $176.2 million, or opt for a shorter deal. Yahoo! Sports first reported the news.
Those in NBA circles expected that Leonard would re-sign with the Clippers even after declining his $36 million player option. Leonard joined the Clippers two years ago and played an influential role with the Oklahoma City Thunder dealing Paul George to the Clippers for a promising young player (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), a dependable scorer (Danilo Gallinari) and future first-round picks (five). So much so that one opposing NBA team executive predicted last week that it was “a done deal” that Leonard would stay with the Clippers.
Still, Leonard did not make his decision until Friday afternoon nearly four days after free agency began on Monday evening. The Clippers still maintained optimism, however, that Leonard would stay.
Before Leonard's commitment, the Clippers retained Reggie Jackson and Nicolas Batum on two-year deals. They landed Keon Johnson (No. 21) and Jason Preston (No. 33) in the NBA Draft. And forward Serge Ibaka exercised his $9.7 million player option after missing the final 30 regular-season games and logging only 18 postseason minutes because of season-ending back surgery.
As for Leonard, he assuaged any concerns that he might leave the Clippers after making hasty exits with other teams. Four years after winning an NBA title and Finals MVP and becoming groomed to become the franchise’s cornerstone following Tim Duncan’s retirement, Leonard asked for the San Antonio Spurs to trade him after missing all but nine games in the 2017-18 season because of a right quadricep injury. Despite winning another NBA title and Finals MVP the next season with the Toronto Raptors, Leonard left for the Clippers in hopes of winning an NBA title there with George.
That has not happened yet. The Clippers squandered a 3-1 series lead to the Denver Nuggets in the 2020 Western Conference semifinals. The Clippers advanced to their first Western Conference finals in franchise history this past season, but that coincided with Leonard nursing a torn ACL in his right knee. Leonard missed the Games 5 and 6 of the Clippers’ second-round series against the Utah Jazz as well as the entire Western finals against the Phoenix Suns after injuring his right knee toward the end of Game 4.
Afterwards, Leonard insisted he felt “fine” and the team subsequently listed him as day-to-day with a sprained right knee. But Leonard had surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee in mid July, about two weeks after losing to Phoenix in six games. The Clippers have not given a timetable on Leonard’s return, but Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson missed the entire 2019-20 season after tearing an ACL in his left knee in a Game 6 loss to the Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals.
“Right now, our focus for Kawhi, just like his is, is his health,” Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations, said following the NBA Draft last week. “He had major surgery. He tore his ACL. So that’s going to require a great deal of time, and we want to support him in that.”
The Clippers already made various moves that they hoped would convince Leonard to stay for reasons beyond having productive seasons in 2019-20 (27.1 points on 47% shooting, 7.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists) and 2020-21 (24.8 points on 51.2% shooting, 6.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists).
The Clippers remained deliberative with handling Leonard’s health that included missing games in 2019-20 (15) and 2020-21 (20) to nurse various ailments. Following the Clippers’ second-round loss to the Nuggets, they made various changes to their roster and coaching staff. After Doc Rivers guided the Clippers to a franchise-record six consecutive playoff appearances, the Clippers and Rivers parted ways before promoting assistant Tyronn Lue as head coach. The Clippers found Lue more effective with how he led the locker room and made various in-game adjustments with his rotation and schemes. The Clippers also replaced departing free agent Montrezl Harrell with Serge Ibaka and Nicolas Batum and also dealt reserve guard Lou Williams to Atlanta for veteran guard Rajon Rondo.
Before the season started, the Clippers also signed George to a four-year, $190 million extension. George elevated his play compared to last year and gave the Clippers a fighter’s chance without Leonard.
Even if he sits out for all or most of next season, Leonard’s long-term commitment to the Clippers will significantly help the team’s chances with competing in a crowded Western Conference.
“We’re still going to be very, very competitive just like we have been the previous years,” Frank said last week. “The goal is not just to be good for a one-year cycle. The goal is to be good for a long time. In order to do that, you have to have a really good mix with guys in different stages in their career. We take really good pride that we have some really good veterans. And we have some young guys that have really shown they are quality, NBA rotation players with upside that can get even better.”
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kawhi Leonard reaches agreement with Clippers to re-sign
