The Los Angeles Clippers have an interesting offseason coming up, and it involves the future of Kawhi Leonard. It's safe to say that the forward had one of the better seasons of his career, and the next question will be if he'll sign an extension with the team.
The Clippers showed this season that they're bought into getting younger, and they did so by trading James Harden at the deadline for Darius Garland. They then were able to hit big in the draft lottery, where they landed the No. 5 pick. That means they'll have a bright future, but as of now, it's uncertain if Leonard will be in those plans.
Tim McMahon of The Hoop Collective gave an update on what the Clippers might consider when it comes to an extension for Leonard.
“Well, and then there’s also, like, we’ll see what happens with Aspiration,” MacMahon said. “Assuming they are allowed to attempt to negotiate an extension, I believe the intention is to try to negotiate an extension with Kawhi Leonard. But ‘negotiate’ is a key word there. It’s not just like, ‘Hey, can you take just a little slight haircut from maxes?’ And so, depending on how that goes, there’s a world where Kawhi could be on the block this summer, too. So, we shall see.”
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Right after the Clippers' season ended, league sources claimed that the team didn't believe they'd receive harsh punishment for the Aspiration investigation.
It wouldn't be a surprise if Leonard asked for the max, especially with how he played this past season. At the same time, the Clippers seem to be going into a new era, and mortgaging their future is something they may not want to do at this point.
There's no doubt that there will be several suitors looking for Leonard's services if they do plan on trading him, and that could help them get more assets.
The Los Angeles Clippers have an interesting offseason coming up, and it involves the future of Kawhi Leonard. It's safe to say that the forward had one of the better seasons of his career, and the next question will be if he'll sign an extension with the team.