Kawhi Leonard staying with Clippers via four-year, $176.3M deal
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported last week that superstar and two-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Kawhi Leonard would be staying with the Los Angeles Clippers via a contract that hadn't yet been finalized.
Haynes confirmed Thursday that Leonard has signed a four-year contract that includes a player option, and insider Shams Charania offered additional information on the deal:
Leonard is a five-time All-Star who averaged 24.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 52 regular-season games during the 2020-21 campaign. However, the 30-year-old suffered a partial tear of the ACL in his right knee during the Western Conference semifinals and underwent offseason surgery to address the matter.
It's believed Leonard will miss at least half of the 2021-22 regular season, and ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Bobby Marks previously predicted the Clippers would sign Leonard only to a two-year contract with a player option in 2022-23 because of concerns about his knee.
More must-reads: