KAWHI LEONARD HAS officially joined the Los Angeles Clippers, but has reportedly made a surprising decision regarding his contract.
The three-time All-Star is rumoured to have signed a three-year, $103 million (€91.5 million) deal with a player option in 2021-22, rather than the four-year, $141m (€125m) contract he initially was expected to sign.
Such an agreement would allow Leonard to become an unrestricted free agent alongside his co-star Paul George – whose arrival from the Oklahoma City Thunder was also ratified on Wednesday – in two seasons, which puts pressure on the Clippers to be successful.
Leonard, the 2019 NBA Finals MVP, declined his player option with the Toronto Raptors after their championship run and elected to return to his home state of California.
The ruptured Achilles Kevin Durant suffered in Game 5 of this year’s title series made Leonard the most sought-after free agent on the market. He made things interesting by orchestrating a blockbuster deal.
The Clippers, at Leonard’s request, sent Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and a staggering five future first-round picks to the Thunder for George, making them the favourites to win the championship in 2020.
They went from an eighth seed in the Western Conference to a powerhouse with two All-NBA talents and a strong supporting cast featuring Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell.
The Clippers have come back stronger than ever after a first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Golden State Warriors, but their window to win it all could be smaller than what many thought it would be.
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Don’t follow American football that much bar watching the Super Bowl every year but this was a very well-written article. Cheers Steve.
@EK: pre season
Star wars Patriots parody
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tawltTWLmK8
Lost his number one receiver against best pass defence in the league with a throwing hand with 12 stitches in it and still won, greatness!!!
Jags took a knee in the first with nearly a minute left and 3 timeouts….would the Pats ever do that, hell no….knew they were beat when they done that.
@Dick Durkin: yeah and they were child like with the clock near the end, not running it down when blatantly obvious to do so before the 2 min warning
@Baz: put it down to inexperience, they were easily the better team for 3 quarters…they’ll learn from it and they’ll be there or there abouts next season.
@Dick Durkin: No guarantee in football that they will be back.
Watching the game, Jags went hell for leather in first half
I was thinking, they will be gassed by 4th quarter
So they will need a big lead
Patriots don’t even beat teams anymore. There myth like status beats most team either before the game or when the pressure is on in the 4th quarter….Patriots just take advantage.
Peyton Manning is the GOAT.
@Leon: Regular season GOAT
Great article Steve (again as usual)