The Clippers are expected to use their first-round draft pick on one of the young guards in a deep NBA draft class on Tuesday night, a player who not only will add talent but youth to a roster that opened last season as the oldest in the league.
Read more Beloved bakery announces closure of Orange location
The Clippers took a few steps in revamping their creaky lineup last season when they traded veteran James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Darius Garland, who at 25 was 10 years his junior. They then traded center Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for 24-year-old guard/forward Bennedict Mathurin and forward Isaiah Jackson, 24, and two first-round picks (including Tuesday’s No. 5 pick).
While selecting a talented rookie such as Keaton Wagler or Mikel Brown Jr. with that fifth overall pick will continue to lower the average age of the Clippers’ roster, the team still has several veterans who could be part of their plans for next season and Kawhi Leonard is at the top of the list.
The two-time Finals MVP is coming off one of his most efficient seasons, having averaged the most points per game in his career (27.9) and finished in the league’s top 10 in field goal, 2-point and 3-point shooting percentage.
But he is 35 years old and injury-prone, although he enjoyed one of his healthiest seasons since 2019, appearing in 65 games. He also is entering the final year of a three-year, $149.5 million contract extension he signed in January 2024. He is eligible to extend his contract for two additional seasons, and the Clippers could offer up to $126.1 million but Leonard reportedly might face a pay cut to extend his deal.
Despite increasing trade rumors, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has maintained his intent to build the roster around Leonard. Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank re-affirmed that after the team was eliminated with a Play-In Tournament loss to the Golden State Warriors.
“Our plan is to win with Kawhi,” Frank said.
That is, if Leonard is still with the team.
Any plans involving Leonard – whether he leaves or signs an extension with the Clippers – is on hold until the NBA rules on allegations that the team circumvented the salary cap in its deal with Aspiration, the now-defunct green banking company.
Leonard signed a $28 million endorsement contract with Aspiration six months after owner Steve Ballmer invested $50 million and signed a $300 million deal to make the company the first founding partner of the Intuit Dome.
Read more Senate is set to pass a bipartisan housing bill aimed at increasing supply and lowering prices
An unnamed Aspiration employee has said Leonard’s sponsorship deal “was to circumvent the salary cap.”
If found guilty, Leonard’s contract could be voided, the Clippers could be fined, and/or Ballmer could be suspended, which would handcuff the team in its draft moves and free agency going forward.
While Leonard remains the core of the team’s plans, the Clippers face decisions on several other players, such as free agents Mathurin (RFA) and veteran forward John Collins (UFA), pieces they could use to find a starting center.
Brook Lopez took over the starting role after the Clippers traded Zubac to the Pacers and rookie sensation Yanic Konan Niederhauser suffered a Lisfranc fracture in his right foot that is expected to sideline him until January.
While Lopez continues to produce on the court, the former NBA Defensive Player of the Year turned 38 in April. Still, the Clippers could sign him for another season as they hold a team option on the second year of the contract he signed in 2025.
The Clippers, who had the Western Conference’s fourth-best record (36-19) after Dec. 19, also have decisions to make regarding team options for Kobe Sanders, Jordan Miller, Nicolas Batum and Bogdan Bogdanovic. They are expected to move on from Bogdanovic, who had fallen out of the rotation the past season.
The Clippers, who also have two second-round picks on Wednesday (Nos. 36 and 52), have the flexibility to stay under the luxury tax and still sign Mathurin by using the $15 million non-tax midlevel exception.
Read more 3 congressional members demand investigation into alleged retaliation against Adelanto ICE detainees