Leonard's contract extension is to be expected, and the length of the new contract represents a desire for both parties to pursue a long-term partnership, ideally, both sides want to succeed in the future.
Speculation about how Leonard would renew his contract is over. The long wait, at least for the next three years, leonard will continue to play for the Clippers, despite the uncertainty of the fourth year (Leonard's fourth year is a player option). He's a player on a $176.3 million high-paying contract, and on the other hand, the Clippers are a $176.3 million high-paying contract player. ）。 The future of the team is not only about the overnight progress, but considering the uncertainty in Leonard, the future team will be in a cautious situation, and Leonard has now signed Leonard. The situation has changed, but overall, the future is still full of hope.
Leonard's contract extension with the Clippers is to be expected, but it comes with many uncontrollable factors. At least in terms of contract years, it suggests that the Clippers tend to have the upper hand in negotiations with stars, either because Leonard wants to stay in Los Angeles for the long term, or both.
Let's turn back to the focus on Leonard's uncontrollable factors: At the start of the offseason, or even earlier, the news that Leonard would remain with the Clippers seemed to have spread. Uncontrollable factors, like he sprained his right anterior cruciate ligament torn in the second round of the playoffs against the Jazz, you never know what will happen in the future... There was a time when, because Leonard was reticent, it was thought he would end up like Big Brother Tim Duncan. However, he then played for another team, winning another championship in Toronto. Now, Leonard has promised to stay with the Clippers for at least another three more years. Ideally, the Clippers became the third team Leonard to play for and benefit from.
Next season, Leonard will most likely miss most of the regular season, and it will take time to recover from right anterior cruciate ligament tear surgery, and it may even be possible to miss the entire regular season. If he can return from the playoffs, the team may have to limit his playing time, and he himself will limit his playing time (the unpredictability factor will not disappear overnight). For example, there is a glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel, and the tunnel seems to be longer than it seemed before.
What the Clippers have done is to make sure Leonard signs a long contract, rather than letting the stars sign a two-year contract with a slap on the head, as they have done before. The strategy now is to ensure that the roster is relatively stable for most of the 2020s. Most short-term contracts are involved in some trading operations during the offseason or season. Previously, people were worried that no matter which team it was, Leonard would approve of the plan to sign a short contract first.
Leonard also considered the option, but the Clippers created an attractive atmosphere that led him to sign the four-year contract (including the player option for the final year). For a player with an unsatisfactory injury situation, such a contract extension is not without precedent. In recent years, the Nets' Kevin Durant and the Warriors' Klay Thompson have both suffered from major injuries, signing huge contracts directly with the team after being injured.
Negotiations for Leonard's injury situation seem similar to that of his contemporaries in the All-Star race. The Warriors didn't want to give Thompson a short contract, and the Nets didn't seem interested in giving Durant a short-term contract. If both stars chose to refuse to execute the player option the following year, why did the team pay a year's salary for the superstars in vain? The Clippers have referred to the plan with the Nets and warriors, so that even if Leonard does not play in the first year of injury, at least it can ensure that Leonard has the right to use for two years. The Clippers consider these factors together as a benchmark for the team's progress. If a two-year contract is offered, Leonard is destined to spend his first year on the sidelines in civilian clothes, and the next year other teams will throw a rugby branch to him after injury, and the team lineup and salary are saturated. So, this short contract is equivalent to giving him a springboard, what is the point of doing so?
Leonard and the Clippers don't seem interested in such an operation, as evidenced by their various moves in the offseason. Lawrence Frank, the clippers' president of basketball operations, and his team made renewing Leonard a major goal in the offseason, and of course, Leonard was the cornerstone of the team, not to mention the time and effort spent the most on management to keep him with the Clippers. In the 2021 season, Sergi Ibaka spent most of his time with injuries, opting for the executive player option to renew his contract for the following year. Nicholas Batum then announced a contract extension with the Clippers, as did Reggie Jackson. Subsequently, the Clippers signed Justis Winslow, a quality reinforcement. Next season, if Terrance Mann starts in place of Leonard, and he (Winslow) can be used as a substitute, adding depth to the lineup.
Obviously, management believes that last season when the top scorer Leonard was absent, the team could get to that point, which can be said to be very strong. This not only shows that the team is quite lethal in the playoffs, but also that if it is a healthy lineup for all, the team definitely has the strength and opportunity to compete for the championship. Not to mention that Leonard also saw the performance of the team and understood this truth. If he didn't understand, it would be incredible. Considering the steady play of Paul George in the late 2021 playoffs, the (hopefully stable) advantage of Reggie Jackson, and the growth of Terrance Mann and Luke Kennard, the cultivation of rookies Keane Johnson, Jason Preston jr. brandon Boston jr. The team has built a good foundation and I dare say that the traditional team culture is being built.
Well, the word team culture is a bit uncomfortable (review understanding: Given recent deals, the Clippers are no longer human). Still, contracts like Leonard's tend to inspire prophets. Arguably, the Clippers of The City of Empty Connections have never pinned so much hope on success in the playoffs. Once Chris Paul and Blake Griffin leave the team or slip status, the Clippers are left with only young rookies or experienced veterans. But who's on the roster right now? How many more seasons can Cowy Leonard, Paul George and the other core players in last year's squad play?
This is difficult to predict. The path is different and hope is bright.