Kawhi Leonard not going anywhere
The Clippers made their first ever appearance in the Western Conference Finals this past season, but they did so without their star wing in Kawhi Leonard. The 2x Finals MVP suffered a mysterious knee injury in his team’s previous series against the Utah Jazz in the playoffs and it was revealed after the Clippers lost to the Suns in the WCF that Leonard has suffered a partial ACL tear in his right knee and underwent surgery on July 14.
No timetable has been laid out for Leonard’s possible return to action, but it is expected that he could very well miss half of the 2021-22 season. With Kawhi now out indefinitely, not only is there a lot of pressure on Paul George, but the Clippers’ front-office as well because they not only have to try to find replacements for Leonard’s production on the court, but they need to figure out Kawhi’s contract situation as well.
Having a $36M player option for the 2021-22 season, there is no word yet on whether or not Kawhi Leonard is going to opt out of his contract, but whether he does or not, he is not expected to go anywhere. In fact, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski stated on The Woj & Lowe Free Agency Special on July 25 that there is no indication that Kawhi Leonard is leaving the Clippers.
The Miami Heat, New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks were three teams rumored to be “all-in” on the idea of pursuing Leonard in free agency, but this does not seem like the case anymore. The Heat have turned their attention to Kyle Lowry, the Knicks are still watching the Damian Lillard situation in Portland and the Mavericks are also interested in Lowry, which is why Leonard’s market has changed since his ACL injury.
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If he opts out of his contract and becomes an unrestricted free agent, there will still be a handful of teams that reach out to his camp, but at this point, anything but Leonard returning to Los Angeles seems like a long-shot. He will entertain some offers from other teams, but Kawhi will be back in a Clippers’ uniform next season. The big question that has yet to be answered though is when exactly will he return to the court?
