I’M LEAVING ” Kawhi Leonard accepted a $68.5million to Depart from Clippers.
Kawhi Leonard signs 3-year, $153M extension with Clippers, sources say
Kawhi Leonard signed a three-year, $153 million contract extension to remain with the LA Clippers, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Clippers announced the deal Wednesday but did not disclose terms.
Sources told Wojnarowski that the deal will pay Leonard $52 million in the first year and approximately $50 million per season over the next two years. The extension does not include a player option, according to Wojnarowski, but does include a 15 percent trade kicker.
“It just made sense from both sides,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said before Wednesday’s game against the Raptors. “We both wanted the same thing. We wanted Kawhi to be a Clipper for a very long time and Kawhi wants to be a Clipper for a very long time and we wanted to put the focus on the team and at the same time it just came together where it just made sense where it was a very fair deal for both sides.
“Kawhi was a great partner. Because of this new CBA, there’s harsh penalties but team building penalties for high spending teams and Kawhi understood it.”
Leonard is in the midst of a one of his healthiest and productive seasons as a Clipper, and the extension ensures the Clippers will have their franchise star as they move into their new Intuit Dome next season.
The Clippers also are having ongoing extension talks with Paul George and want to have both of their stars lined up on longer-term contracts, sources told Wojnarowski.
Leonard had until June 30 to sign an extension with a $48.7 million player option for next season. George also has a $48.7 million player option for next season.
Both Clippers stars entered the season eligible for a maximum extension of four years and $223 million, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Lawrence said the team is in constant communication with George’s representation.
“Paul and Kawhi, both those guys have the same goals,” Frank said. “They want to win. And in order to win, you need to be able to have flexibility to have really good teammates. And in order to do that, there’s sacrifices that need to be made… We want everyone to be compensated fairly and yet also preserve flexibility to both in the short and long-term [to] have contending rosters.”
Leonard is averaging 23.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, shooting 51.6% from the field along with 43% from behind the arc in 32 games this season. Since a 3-7 start not long after trading for James Harden, the Clippers have won 20 of their past 26 games.
A healthy Leonard has been a huge part of that success. Leonard opened this season playing in 27 straight games, his most consecutive games in a season since 2016-17.
George also is enjoying a healthy start to the season, averaging 23.2 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 46.0% from the field and 40.9% from 3-point range in 34 games.
“We’re thrilled to continue our relationship with Kawhi,” Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations, said in a statement. “He is an elite player, a terrific partner and a relentless worker who knows how to win and makes it his first priority. He elevated our franchise from the moment he arrived. We feel fortunate that Kawhi chose to join the Clippers five years ago, and excited to keep building with him.”
The Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to a one-year, $2.1 million deal with forward Guerschon Yabusele, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday, after he played a big role in France’s run to the silver medal at the Olympics earlier this month.
Yabusele, a bruising 6-foot-8, 260-pound power forward who was a 2016 first-round draft pick by the Boston Celtics, has a chance to step into the rotation on a 76ers team that made one of the biggest moves of the summer in signing Paul George to a four-year max contract. While the 76ers also retained Kelly Oubre and Kyle Lowry as free agents and signed Caleb Martin, Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon, they are light on options at power forward behind Martin — the presumed starter — which gives Yabusele a chance to earn a spot in coach Nick Nurse’s rotation.
Yabusele, 28, was a breakout star in France’s run to the Olympic gold medal game, scoring 22, 17 and 20 points against Canada, Germany and the United States, respectively. Across those three games, Yabusele shot a blistering 16-for-24 (66.7%) from the field.
Yabusele played sparingly across two seasons for the Celtics before being waived in the summer of 2019. After playing a season in China, he spent parts of two seasons at ASVEL in France — a team owned by Hall of Famer Tony Parker — before signing with Real Madrid in the summer of 2021.
Yabusele spent the past three years with the Spanish giants, helping them win the EuroLeague title in 2023 and make the competition’s final four each season. This past season, he averaged 9.6 points and shot 43% from 3-point range on 2.6 attempts per game.
