Kawhi Leonard has recently committed to the Los Angeles Clippers by signing a 4-year deal for $176.3 million. There is no question that this was a good move for Leonard, and it looks as though he will be a Clipper for the foreseeable future. There is no question that Kawhi Leonard is a superstar that warrants that kind of money. However, it seems as though Leonard’s decision to lock up his future for the next few years surprised some analysts.
Tim Bontemps of ESPN was surprised at Kawhi Leonard’s decision and stated that there was an expectation around the league that Kawhi Leonard would opt for a shorter deal, and sign a 1 + 1 deal, allowing him to opt-out of his player option and sign a bigger contract next summer.
.@TimBontemps is surprised Kawhi signed a four-year deal with the Clippers.
"The expectation was Kawhi Leonard was going to sign a one-plus-one." pic.twitter.com/59C6slMnGJ
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) August 13, 2021
I am surprised… Around the league, even in Vegas the past few days… the expectation was Kawhi Leonard was going to sign a 1 + 1 and stay with the Clippers for this season at least, and go back into free agency next year when he could sign a 5-year supermax deal and make a lot more money. Even if he was trying to maximize his revenue this summer, he could have opted in and signed an extension off of that… and made a bunch more money doing it that way.
It is interesting he chose to pick this direction, but now he lines up with the same contract as Paul George. They both have player options in 3 years, and it gives the Clippers a lot more flexibility than I think anybody in the league really was expecting them to have coming out of this summer.
There may have been some lost money there for Kawhi Leonard, but his decision has given the franchise more flexibility for the future. Leonard lining up his deal with Paul George is also significant, as it allows them to hit free agency at the same time. What matters in the end though, is that the Los Angeles Clippers got the extension done, and now they’ll have the services of one of the league’s best superstars for the near future.
