After a slow start to the season due to lingering effects from an eye infection, Kawhi Leonard exploded for 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead the San Antonio Spurs to an 89-85 come-from-behind victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. After the game, the 2014 NBA Finals MVP said he's "pretty sure" he'll be a Spur for life, according to Sam Amick of USA Today.
Kawhi Leonard is ‘pretty sure’ he’ll be a Spurs player for life
Leonard is set to become a restricted free agent next summer, but he doesn’t envision himself leaving San Antonio.
Stephen Dunn
Some eyebrows were raised when the Spurs and Leonard didn't agree to a contract extension before the Oct. 31 deadline, and TNT's Reggie Miller openly questioned whether the failure to reach a deal was affecting Leonard's play during San Antonio's 98-81 loss to the Houston Rockets last Thursday.
Leonard is set to become a restricted free agent next summer, and he could sign a lucrative offer sheet elsewhere. However, the 23-year-old doesn’t envision himself leaving San Antonio:
“I don’t think I’m going anywhere,” Leonard said. “I mean they love me here. I like the organization, and if it was up to me, I want to finish out with one team like a lot of great players have done, to stay with one organization their whole career and just be loyal to that. You never know. We’ll see what happens next summer, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be in a Spurs jersey for my whole life.”
Leonard also made it a point to say he’s not upset about not getting a new contract this offseason:
“I was never upset about (the extension),” Leonard said. “I mean they explained to me what their deal is and why they didn’t do it yet. That’ll play out. I’m just here to play basketball and have fun and try to win another championship. If I think about that, then I’m not going to be the same player that I am and will be just out of it.
“I can’t be impatient. It would show on the floor, and I won’t compete if I’m thinking about getting the ball. I’m just going out there to do my role, the same role - defense first and then see how the ball turns out on the offensive end.”
As Leonard said, the Spurs had their reasons for not coming to an agreement. If San Antonio would have given him the max extension he was seeking, he would be on the books for around $16 million next offseason. Instead, the Spurs will submit a qualifying offer of $4.05 million and make him a restricted free agent, and his cap hold of $7.25 million will be on the books.
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That big difference gives the Spurs much more flexibility as they look to reload their roster. Amick notes that one possible scenario is a pursuit of Marc Gasol if Tim Duncan retires, and having that extra cap space helps those efforts. San Antonio could use its cap space to sign Gasol or other free agents, and then use Bird rights to go over the cap and sign Leonard to an extension.
Even if Leonard signs a max offer sheet elsewhere, the Spurs would have three days to use their cap space on free agents before deciding to match. San Antonio could use up all its cap space during that time and then go over the cap by matching the offer sheet.
Leonard could sign an offer sheet similar to the one that Chandler Parsons signed with the Dallas Mavericks this summer, which would make him an unrestricted free agent sooner rather than later. But even if that happened, there's nothing to indicate that Leonard would have much interest in leaving San Antonio.
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