How Kawhi Leonard's partially torn ACL could affect his free agency outlook and his next contract

The Los Angeles Clippers star forward has a player option for next season at $36 million

When Kawhi Leonard initially joined the Los Angeles Clippers, he did so on a deal that lasted only two years with a player option for a third. It was a wise maneuver, one that perfectly balanced his financial and professional empowerment. The short length of the deal kept the Clippers accountable for their on-court product and off-court compliance with his demands, but it sacrificed very little in the way of security. Players like LeBron James and Kevin Durant have taken one-year deals in the past for the sake of leveraging that organizational accountability to the fullest, but doing so exposed them to a fair degree of financial risk. Leonard struck a greater balance.  2021-22 $39,344,970 2022-23 $42,492,567 2023-24 $45,640,164 2024-25 $48,787,761 Total $176,265,462 2021-22 $39,344,970 2022-23 $41,312,218 2023-24 $43,279,466 2024-25 $45,246,714 Total $169,183,368 2021-22 $36,016,200 2022-23 (new deal) $40,525,319 2023-24 $43,767,344 2024-25 $47,009,369 2025-26 $50,251,394 2026-27 $53,493,419 Total $271,063,045 In the short-term, he guaranteed himself $103 million ... if he wanted it. As a superstar in his prime, he surely believed another max contract would be waiting for him at that point, and he wanted to maximize its value. He strategically placed the option after his 10th NBA season. When a player reaches 10 years of experience, they become eligible for the highest possible max contract, one that starts at 35 percent of the salary cap. That price point would be available not only to the Clippers, but to opposing teams in free agency as well. Had he decided he wanted to leave the Clippers after two years, he would have done so without leaving too much money on the table.  If he wanted to stay with the Clippers, he again left himself several options. A four-year deal starting at that 35 percent figure was almost certainly going to be available to him, but if he wanted a fifth year on that deal, he could have gotten one by remaining with the Clippers for one extra season. Teams need full Bird Rights to give that fifth year, and it takes three years to earn those rights. Leonard could have gotten to that third year through his player option. The deal, as a whole, gave Leonard the flexibility to pursue practically any team or scenario that he would have wanted.