While he was eligible for a four-year, $223 million extension, Kawhi Leonard “only” extended for $153 million over three years with the Clippers. “The Klaw” therefore agreed not to get the maximum, aware that even if he is back at 100%, his injury history weighs on him.
“I think at the end of my contract I will be 35 years old. You will see how I will play at this age” he explains when asked over the duration of his new lease. “So I guess that was the right number. »
Now linked with the Los Angeles franchise until 2027, with three fully guaranteed years, without a “player option” but with a 15% “trade kicker”, the MVP of the 2014 and 2019 Finals also explains that this contract extension must allow locking the current kernel.
“Based on what we discussed on this subject, I think that everyone, or almost everyone, will come back. The fact that I am extending it gives us a chance to sign all these players.” he assures us.
Paul George’s turn?
Also eligible for a four-year, $223 million extension, Paul George should logically be the next to negotiate a new contract with the Clippers, who will move to the Intuit Dome in Inglewood next season. The full-back/winger thus confirms that the extension of his friend goes in this direction.
” Obviously. We locked down Kawhi. It opens the door for me but I am very, very optimistic that an agreement will be found on my side as well” confides the former Pacers and Thunder.
For James Harden, we will have to wait because the 2018 MVP cannot sign a contract extension immediately. But everything seems in place for Los Angeles to retain all three players, plus perhaps Russell Westbrook, all from the Los Angeles area, in the medium term.
For the franchise, the ideal would undoubtedly be to align the contracts of the Leonard/George/Harden trio until 2027.
“It just made sense for both sides” explains Lawrence Frank, the club's president of basketball operations, regarding Kawhi Leonard's contract extension. “We all wanted the same thing. We wanted Kawhi to stay a Clipper for a long time, and Kawhi wanted to stay a Clipper for a long time. We also wanted to focus on the team, and everything came together to find a very fair agreement for both parties. Kawhi is a great partner. Because of the new collective bargaining agreement, the penalties are harsher for teams that spend a lot, and Kawhi understands this well. »
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Kawhi Leonard | 32 | 34.5 | 51.6 | 43.0 | 87.1 | 1.1 | 5.0 | 6.1 | 3.4 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 23.8 |
| Paul George | 34 | 34.5 | 46.0 | 40.9 | 91.8 | 0.7 | 4.9 | 5.6 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 23.2 |
| James Harden | 31 | 33.9 | 46.6 | 43.1 | 87.1 | 0.4 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 8.4 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 17.4 |
| Norman Powell | 36 | 25.5 | 49.7 | 45.9 | 89.5 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 13.4 |
| Ivica Zubac | 36 | 27.1 | 65.6 | 0.0 | 64.1 | 3.2 | 6.5 | 9.7 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 2.9 | 12.6 |
| Russell Westbrook | 36 | 23.3 | 46.2 | 27.4 | 65.4 | 1.6 | 4.5 | 6.1 | 4.6 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 10.9 |
| Bones Hyland | 16 | 14.6 | 39.3 | 36.4 | 83.3 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 7.1 |
| Terance Mann | 30 | 25.4 | 41.8 | 26.3 | 74.3 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 3.2 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 7.1 |
| Daniel Theis | 25 | 16.6 | 51.9 | 43.5 | 74.2 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 6.8 |
| Bj Boston, Jr. | 7 | 7.8 | 44.8 | 30.8 | 100.0 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 5.1 |
| Kj Martin | 2 | 15.7 | 40.0 | 20.0 | 50.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 5.0 |
| Mason Plumlee | 8 | 14.2 | 66.7 | 0.0 | 52.4 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 4.9 |
| Amir Coffey | 24 | 15.1 | 49.3 | 34.2 | 86.7 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 4.0 |
| Robert Covington | 3 | 23.1 | 33.3 | 25.0 | 50.0 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 3.0 |
| Moussa Diabate | 10 | 5.8 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 75.0 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 2.7 |
| Nicolas Batum | 3 | 18.0 | 37.5 | 28.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 2.7 |
| Kobe Brown | 24 | 10.2 | 40.0 | 30.6 | 50.0 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 2.3 |
| Joshua Primo | 1 | 5.0 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| Jordan Miller | 3 | 3.9 | 66.7 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 1.7 |
| Pj Tucker | 12 | 14.4 | 28.6 | 27.3 | 100.0 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 2.2 | 1.2 |
| Xavier Moon | 2 | 5.8 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 |
