Los Angeles Clippers sign a 3-year, $153 million extension with Kawhi Leonard

The Los Angeles Clippers have signed a three-year, $153 million contract extension with their ace forward Kawhi Leonard, ESPN reported on Wednesday. It doesn't include a player option but bears a 15-percent trade kicker.

The Clippers announced the extension on Wednesday without disclosing the details.

"It just made sense from both sides," the team's president of basketball operations, Lawrence Frank, said before the team's 126-120 win over the Toronto Raptors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.

"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 (Collective Bargaining Agreement), there's harsh penalties but team building penalties for high spending teams and Kawhi understood it," Frank added.

The Clippers have a payroll of over $202 million for the 2023-24 season, the second-most of all 30 teams and way above the NBA's salary cap ($136 million), the luxury tax line ($165.3 million), the first apron level ($172.3 million) and the second apron level ($182.8 million).

However, none of it gives the Clippers any reason not to sign an extension with Leonard. He has been in his best health this season since he joined the Clippers in summer 2019. He has played 33 of the team's 37 games so far and averaged 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

Leonard has a $48.7 million player option in the previous contract for the 2024-25 campaign with the Clippers and has until June 30 to sign an extension with the team. His eight-time All-Star partner Paul George is facing the same extension situation with the team. Both are eligible for a four-year, $223 million deal at most, according to ESPN.

"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."

The Clippers traded heavily with the Philadelphia 76ers for James Harden at the beginning of the season. Having struggled for about a week in early November 2023, the team is now on the right track and has won 16 of its past 19 games, currently ranking fourth in the Western Conference.

Harden will become a restricted free agent after this season.