Kawhi Leonard officially became a free agent on Monday after declining his $36 million player option. Leonard is widely expected to re-sign with the Los Angeles Clippers, however he is willing to listen to offers from rival teams, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Kawhi Leonard had a stellar postseason run with the LA Clippers during the 2020-21 NBA campaign. He averaged 30.4 points per game on 57.3% shooting from the floor. He sustained a knee-injury during the second-round series against the Utah Jazz and missed his team’s last eight playoff games.
The Clippers reached the Western Conference Finals, for the first time in the history of the franchise, losing to the Phoenix Suns. Leonard will likely miss a huge chunk of next season recovering from a partial ACL tear. Now, he is an unrestricted free agent, and several teams with cap room could be interested in the Clippers’ superstar.
According to the latest reports, the Dallas Mavericks, the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat are three teams interested in Leonard. Clippers can sign Leonard to a four-year, $176.2 million contract at the moment, per Bobby Marks of ESPN. The free agent market opens Monday for the NBA teams.
