Sources: Lou Williams agrees to 3-year, $24M extension with Clippers

Shams Charania

Lou Williams has agreed to a three-year, $24 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Clippers, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

The deal includes a $1.5 million partial guarantee in the third year, league sources said.

Williams — one of the top trade candidates on the market — had been in discussions for over a month on an extension with the Clippers. Williams‘ agent, Wallace Prather, worked with Clippers officials over the past week to finalize terms to keep the 31-year-old guard in Los Angeles.

For Williams, the contract immediately solidifies three fronts: his stability in Los Angeles, where he has found tremendous comfort and a franchise for which he wants to play; the prosperity of a near maximum veteran extension; and salary security instead of entering what is shaping up to be a treacherous 2018 free-agent market. Williams joined the Clippers via Houston in the Chris Paul trade, joining his third team in less than a year.

Clippers guard Lou Williams is averaging 23.3 points this season. (AP)
Clippers guard Lou Williams is averaging 23.3 points this season. (AP)

Williams, the Sixth Man of the Year in 2015, is averaging 23.3 points and 5.3 assists this season. Williams has always been a consistent bench scorer, but the Clippers called on him to be a focal point of the offense early this season due to injuries, and he performed at career-best levels to help the team contend for a playoff berth. Williams is in the final season of a three-year, $21 million deal he signed in 2015 with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Los Angeles will now shift its focus toward fielding interest for center DeAndre Jordan and Avery Bradley. Williams held tremendous interest on the market, but he had outpriced himself out of potential offers of a late first-round pick or second-round selection.

Williams has played for Philadelphia, Atlanta, Toronto, the Lakers, Houston and the Clippers in his 13-year NBA career. He has career averages of 13.5 points and 3.1 assists.

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