On January 11, 2024, Beijing time, a blockbuster news came from the NBA that the Clippers and the team's star Leonard completed a three-year early contract extension worth $152 million, and there are no player options in this contract extension, Leonard has a salary cut of $8.5 million in this contract extension. With Leonard choosing to take a pay cut to stay with the team, it will also trigger three ripple effects.
1. This season, the Clippers have gambled to form a luxury Big Four of Harden, Westbrook, George and Leonard, although the grinding has been full of twists and turns, but it has produced good chemistry and the team has also achieved good results. Leonard's choice to take a pay cut and renew his contract with the team at this time also fully shows that he is satisfied with the overall strength of the team and the work of the management, and he wants to work with this team for a long time. His salary cut and contract renewal are both an attitude and an example. After all, apart from Leonard, George has a player option for next season after this season, while Harden will become a full free agent. With the core of the team taking a pay cut to stay with the team, Clippers management will also dominate the contract extension of George and Harden.
2. Leonard's salary cut also allows the team to maintain flexibility in the salary space, and there is still room for maneuver. According to reports, after the Clippers re-sign Leonard, they can still get a $20 million star player in a trade without too much cost. Ballmer has previously publicly stated that the team will do whatever it takes to strengthen the team in order to win the championship, which also makes the Clippers occupy the initiative in the team reinforcement, and they are also eager to keep the existing core roster in the team for a long time, which also means that the Clippers will be a strong contender for the championship for many years to come. The Clippers are currently in their honeymoon period, and they will have a lot of good news in the future!
3. From the team's point of view, the team's management has actively started early contract renewal negotiations with the team's core squad before the end of the season, which also indicates that they are extremely satisfied with the current core lineup, and they also believe that the current lineup can bring success to the team, and they also intend to keep the Big Four in the squad for a long time. Overall, the Clippers are now among the top in the league in terms of roster structure, overall depth, player run-in and head coach coaching ability. And they also have the richest owner in the league, Ballmer, and they also ushered in the best opportunity and the strongest capital in the team's history.
After renewing Leonard's contract, the Clippers have started a conversation with George to renew his contract early, and judging from George's current offensive and defensive performance, he definitely deserves a super cap salary. But with Leonard's example, George will definitely make some sacrifices in terms of salary and continue to maintain the flexibility of the team to renew Harden's contract in the future. For the current Clippers team, the core players are willing to accept the terms of the salary cut in order to win the championship, which is also an excellent phenomenon. After successfully retaining the existing core players, the Clippers are bound to make some moves before the trade deadline this season to strengthen the championship, perhaps they are the biggest favorites to win the championship this season, and they will also usher in the best opportunity to win the championship since the establishment of the team!
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