Analyzing Kawhi’s Future in L.A After Paul George’s Extension
Tags: Basketball, Sports, Los Angeles, Kawhi Leonard, NBA

Edited with Photoshop- Original Image via Kelvin Kuo

Clippers forward Paul George signed a five year contract extension Thursday afternoon, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The 6x All-Star can make up to $226 million in the next five seasons. George, who had a player option available in 2021–22, will now have a new player option after the 2024–25 season. George is now eligible to earn a whopping 35% of the Clippers cap next year.

It is highly unlikely that the other L.A Clippers star Kawhi Leonard reaches an extension before the season like George. Leonard, unlike his co-star, would be better suited declining his player option after this year and restructuring his deal. Given that this year will be Leonard’s 10th NBA season, he will be eligible to earn a 35% max, which would increase is yearly salary by about $3 million. After George secured his future as a Clipper, Leonard now has another factor to consider when he becomes a free agent after this season.

Aside from financials, Leonard will need to decide if the Clippers are the right long term fit for him.

Being from the L.A area, it seems probable Leonard might stay, but he has much to ponder. The Clippers blew a 3–1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals which included a historically bad playoff stretch from George, who dropped a dreadful 10 points while shooting just 25% from the field and 18% from three in Game 7.

George’s extension may come to a surprise to many after his viral “side of the backboard” three point attempt in Game 7. Yet, aside from the “Pandemic P” slander and poor playoff showing overall, George posted a career best both in 3-point percentage (41.2%) and in true shooting percentage (58.9%), during the regular season.

The Clippers were also probably eager to resign George to make sure the picks they gave OKC in the original trade, including five years worth of first rounders, did not go to waste. With an All-NBA caliber forward under contract for the next five seasons, the Clippers avoided the “Doomsday” scenario in which both Leonard and George signed elsewhere in free agency, presumably leaving L.A. with no assets to rebuild.

Overall, George is an All-NBA talent who may just remind everyone how good he really is this year, and he assures L.A. that they will remain competitive at least for the next 4–5 years.

The Clippers also lost forward Montrezl Harrell to rivals and current NBA champions, L.A Lakers in free agency. In his place, the Clippers signed friend and former Toronto teammate of Leonard, Serge Ibaka. Ibaka, a prolific shooter and former stalwart defender, offers greater floor spacing and rim protection than Harrell, though he is not nearly the athlete that the reigning Sixth Man of the Year was.

Ultimately, Leonard is the one that asked the Clippers to trade for George, and that should be factored into whether or not he wants to stay in SoCal.

After signing his extension, George spoke on Leonards future with the team saying, “I’m hopeful,” via Mark Medina of USA Today. “He’s one of the guys I talked and informed this is a decision I wanted to make and be long term. What I would love is to play with him for the rest of his contract. It’s Kawhi’s decision.”

While Kawhi has yet to comment on George’s extension, Clippers president of basketball operations Frank Lawrence stated, “We’ll never make any assumptions about anyone’s decisions. But we’re super excited about the kinship and the brotherhood those guys have formed. Today is a great day with the decision Paul made. And it’s a significant day for our franchise.” All eyes will be on Leonard next summer as he and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo headline the 2021 free agent class.

Whether Leonard’s confidence in George and the Clippers organization is as delicate as it may seem, we will have to wait until next year to find out. The Clippers will no doubt go to extreme lengths to get Leonard on board long term. After they failed to win big during the “Lob City” era, securing both George and Leonard for years to come will be the top priority. With Steve Ballmer having some of the deepest pockets in the league, the luxury tax is hardly something the franchise will worry about. After George’s extension, it is clear he and the Clippers have bought in long term. The only remaining question is if the 2x champion and fellow California native on the opposite wing will do the same.

“Whether Leonard’s confidence in George and the Clippers organization is as delicate as it may seem, we will have to wait until next year to find out.”

As of now, the Clippers lost their first preseason game to the Lakers on Friday, 81–87. Leonard and George both played 14 minutes a piece, contributing 3 and 10 points respectively. The two L.A sides will rematch again on 12/13 before they face off on opening night.