The surprises with Kawhi Leonard never end. Leonard, who was reportedly against a short term deal, has agreed to sign a three-year, $103 million dollar deal with the Los Angeles Clippers according to Shams Charania of The Atheltic.
The deal will include a player option in the third year, which lines up perfectly with new sidekick Paul George whose deal could also potentially end in the summer of 2021.
Leonard has signed a two-plus-one and aligned his contract with Paul George -- with both players having the ability via player option to enter 2021 free agency. https://t.co/ZK3Z5huqiu
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 10, 2019
Leonard signing just a three-year deal with the potential for opt out after the second season allows the reigning Finals MVP to get to his 10th year of service. The 10-year mark allows players with elite status to re-sign with their current team for 35% of the salary cap.
According to ESPN's Bobby Marks, Leonard has left $118 million dollars on the table by turning down offers from the Spurs and Raptors and opting to sign a three-year deal with the Clippers instead of a four-year deal.
Re: Kawhi Leonard contract
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 10, 2019
The most he could earn with LAC in 2021 (if he does not opt-in) is 4/$196M
Because of early bird rights- Leonard is not eligible to sign a 5/$253M contract.
$221M (SAS) to $190M (TOR) to $141M (LAC) to now $103M (LAC)- has left $118M on the table.
Leonard could, however, earn $196 million dollars over four years should he chose to opt out in 2021 and re-sign with Los Angeles.
While there are certainly plenty of numbers involved with Leonard and his new team, the only one the team hopes that matters is 16 wins next spring.
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