For second consecutive Year, The Clippers say goodbye in the first round of the playoffs. The fifth year of the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George project comes to an end again in a single tie after having won 51 games in the regular season, and the summer is key in Los Angeles. Because by September, the Clippers will have a new pavilion, a new logo, and they have to decide if they also want a new roster or try again one more year with the same core or decide to move important pieces. They keep Kawhi, they have confirmed that the objective is to retain Ty Lue on the bench, but they have some uncertainties to resolve.
Of the four All-Stars on the team, three could be free agents: Paul George, Russell Westbrook (both player options) and James Harden. His return or not will be what dictates whether these Clippers take a new direction or if they decide to try one more year, blaming injuries as an excuse. The problem is that Leonard, who is under contract through 2027, has played in only 4 of the last 19 postseason games.
LA Clippers contracts, free agents and assets for 2024-25
Only with current players, The Clippers are above the second apron, although looking to the future they depend on Paul George to know whether or not they maintain a squad worth more than $189.6 million. They have six players under contract for next year, with two starters (Kawhi and Zubac) and a key piece of the bench in Norman Powell. Although almost all of them are tied only until the summer of 2025, with the exception of Leonard who signed the extension this year. In addition, they have four other players whose future is up in the air as they have a player or team option.which must be resolved before July 1.
- Kawhi Leonard: $52,368,085 (contract until 2027)
- Norman Powell: $19,241,379 (2026)
- Ivica Zubac: $11,743,210 (2025)
- Amir Coffey: $3,938,271 (2025
- Kobe Brown: $2,533,920 (2027)
- Bones Hyland: $4,158,439 (2025)
- Paul George: $48,787,676 (player option)
- PJ Tucker: $11,539,000 (player option)
- Russell Westbrook: $4,027,525 (player option)
- Kai Jones: $2,196,970 (team option)
If they keep George, they will go above the second apron with complete certainty and the future of Russell Westbrook and James Harden, the main free agent of this project, still needs to be decided. Paul George could return either by accepting his option or signing an extension, as has been rumored, although both assumptions take the Clippers above 153 million including PJ Tucker, who will not find a similar contract in the entire NBA and will accept his option. Again, pending the future of Harden and Westbrook, who in recent days has leaked that he was not very happy with the decision to fulfill the role of sixth man.
More post-elimination panoramas: Lakers | Suns | Heat | Bucks | Sixers
James Harden’s is surely the most complex of all cases. 34 years old (35 when next season starts), the same age as Paul George, the Beard has performed irregularly in the playoffs, but was key to taking the Clippers to the top in February. And he is ready to sign his last big contract in the NBA. The big advantage, as we will now see, is that there are not many teams that can afford to bet on Harden or George in the market. offering both money and the opportunity to compete. In addition to Harden, Mason Plumlee and Daniel Theis are free agents, and Brandon Boston will be restricted. And unfortunately for the Clippers, they don’t have many assets to move in the transfer market either, so keeping both (and overpaying for them) is a reality.
Following the trades of Paul George in 2019 (known as the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander trade) and James Harden last November, The Clippers can only transfer one first rounder, 2030 or 2031 (only one). The Thunder can exchange the 2025 and 2027 picks, in addition to controlling the 2026 pick and the 2028 pick was sent to Philadelphia, who can swap the first round of 2029. And They only have two seconds available to move. All this, together with the limitations of a hypothetical second apron, limits the options and proposes continuity as the most affordable plan to compete. And taking into account that they are opening their pavilion and that Steve Ballmer can spend all the money he wants, it makes sense on a business level.
The Clippers’ big question: who wants your stars?
The list of free agents on the 2024 market is very limited, and The Clippers are the only team that has two All Stars who are ending (or could end) their contracts, three with Westbrook. Paul George, with a player option, and James Harden, an unrestricted free agent, have to decide their future, and the franchises, knowing that it would be a summer of few free agents, decided to do their homework ahead of time.
What does this mean? That there are relatively few teams with cap space to offer a maximum to either of the two. And if we filter by teams with salary space and the ability to compete, the list is much shorter and more exclusive.. And the Clippers compete against them when it comes to signing Harden and Paul George. Right now there are only seven teams projected to have space, including the Hornets, who have two and a half million, although the list can grow. Three have made the playoffs and another has Wembanyama in their ranks, but the problem for Harden is that two of those are his former franchises: Philadelphia and Oklahoma, something not very appealing for the point guard or the team. The third option is Orlando Magic.
The Sixers have been linked to Paul George as a third star after Maxey and Embiid, but the Clippers offer the possibility of signing for more money, more years and greater stability, especially for a player born just an hour’s drive from the new arena. and who likes to play at home. After the Indiana option was eliminated with the arrival of Pascal Siakam, the Clippers remain plan A.
And with that luck they can play in Los Angeles when it comes to offering slightly smaller contracts or look for an option that benefits the Clippers, such as a sign and trade option. From the other point of view, that of the power of the player, it is interpreted that both Harden and George will use everything in his favor to try to take advantage of the urgency and need of the Clippers and their new pavilion when it comes to getting a better contract. . But if Kevin Durant was able to leave the Warriors in 2019, anything is possible.
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2024-05-06 05:56:38
#Contracts #future #free #agents
