Kawhi Leonard, the 29-year-old American forward from the Los Angeles Clippers, is in the news about his future. It is not sure if he’ll continue with the Clippers or would fancy a move to some other team in the NBA. The player does not have a good history of continuing after the contract completion. Actually, he has never done that before.
The Clippers would love to keep Leonard with them, he is a pillar of the team, but the forward might have other plans up his sleeve. Here is all the information you need about Kawhi Leonard and his situation with the Los Angeles Clippers.
What’s the current contract of Kawhi Leonard?
Leonard had signed a 4-year-long contract worth $176M, which expires next season. The last year is a player option in which he is supposed to earn somewhere close to $48.8M. The Clippers would like to extend the player, but it’s highly unlikely that he’ll do so.
A potential Clippers starting lineup if they re-sign Russell Westbrook and trade for James Harden
Russell Westbrook
James Harden
Paul George
Kawhi Leonard
Ivica Zubac pic.twitter.com/OmSdRypyKr— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 29, 2023
What’s the history of Kawhi Leonard with contract extensions?
Kawhi Leonard has never extended his contract. He played for the San Antonio Spurs and the Toronto Raptors before that, but he never extended. The Spurs failed to extend his contract in 2014, and Leonard moved to the Raptors in 2015 NBA free agency. The Raptors failed to convince him for an extension in 2019, but he moved to the Clippers in 2020. He’s at the same crossroads yet again, and people believe that the outcome would be the same.
Outside of Anthony Davis (who played with Lebron) & Kawhi Leonard who lucked up getting traded to a Raptors team with a ready made team core & culture, it's amazing how none of these trade demands in recent history have actually worked out for the player in terms of team success.
— Raheem Palmer (@iamrahstradamus) July 18, 2023
Kawhi Leonard: Past Performance and his future
The two-time NBA finals MVP averaged 23.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in the 52 games he played this season. He won a lot of games for the Clippers in the regular season but was out of action due to a knee injury while the playoffs were going on.
Leonard might carry on the tradition and look for some other team considering the Clippers haven’t made it to the finals for a while. The Clippers would love to extend their forward’s contract and keep him for as long as they can. Let’s see what happens, we’ll keep you updated.
