It’s likely only a matter of time before the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard reach agreement on a new, multiyear contract.
After all, as Sabreena Merchant of SB Nation noted, Leonard “can’t get paid anywhere close” to the maximum contract Los Angeles can offer. “By default, he will be returning to the Clippers,” Merchant wrote.
The same type of scenario is likely to play out for guard Reggie Jackson, another free agent. But just like Leonard, the signing of Jackson is likely a matter of when, not if.
“Now that Danny Green has returned to Philadelphia, there aren’t any teams who can exceed the salary that the Clippers can offer Jackson, and there aren’t any better fits,” Merchant wrote.
More from LA
- The Clippers currently have 10 players under contract. Leonard and Jackson will make it 12. Shootig guard Jay Scrubb will return on a two-way deal, which he had last season. Throw in rookies Keon Johnson, Jason Preston and likely BJ Boston, and the Clippers will be at 15, as Merchant noted.
- The Clippers did indeed have their eyes on DeMar DeRozan, the former Spurs shooting guard who agreed to a sign-and-trade to the Bulls. Per Chris Haynes of Yahopo Sports, DeRozan was preparing to meet with the Clippers about an hour before he agreed to terms with Chicago.
- For now, all the Clippers have done in free agency is re-sign Nicolas Batum to a two-eay deal for about $3.2 million, and watch as Serge Ibaka exercised a $9.7 million player option, as pointed out by Mirjam Swanson of the LA Daily News.
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