What is Kawhi Leonard's net worth? LA Clippers star declines $36M player option for next season
For the second time in three years, Los Angeles Clipper's star performer Kawhi Leonard will become a free agent after reportedly declining his player option with the team. The team announced on July 13, 2021, that Leonard underwent surgery to repair a partially torn ACL but did not specify a return timetable. "We hope to have a very long-term relationship with him."
It was reported that the 30-year-old has turned down his $36 million salary for the 2021-22 season. Leonard and the Clippers are expected to reach a new deal to keep him in Los Angeles, sources said. The five-time All-Star missed the Clippers' final eight playoff games in 2021 with an unspecified knee injury. Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said last week. "... Right now our focus, like Kawhi, is on his health. He had major surgery. He tore his ACL. That's going to require a great deal of time and we want to support him in that."
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Back in December 2020, Leonard said that declining his option doesn't mean he is necessarily leaving the Clippers. "Obviously, if I'm healthy, the best decision is to decline the player option," Leonard said in December. "But that doesn't mean I'm leaving or staying." During his second campaign with the Clippers, Leonard averaged 24.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 52 regular-season games. He missed nine out of 10 games in April 2021, due to a foot injury. Before Leonard got a knee injury, the Clippers got a glimpse of their potential with Leonard and Paul George playing their best basketball together on the playoff stage. Leonard averaged 30.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists while shooting 57.3% in 11 postseason games.
A brief about how free agency works in the NBA: "If the player declines to exercise the option, he remains with the original team. If the option is exercised, he becomes an unrestricted free agent and is free to sign with any team."
What is Kawhi Leonard's net worth?
Born on June 29, 1991, Kawhi Leonard first played for San Antonio Spurs in the NBA. He was selected with the 15th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers, but was traded that night to the San Antonio Spurs. Once there, he played with them for seven seasons. Later, he played a season for the Toronto Raptors, where he won his second championship before moving to Los Angeles. Before joining the Clippers, Leonard is known to have brought a luxurious $13.3 million worth mansion in California. He lost his father, Mark Leonard, in 2008. He lives with his mother Kim Robertson and has two children with his girlfriend, Kishele Shipley.
In 2015 Leonard signed a 5-year $90 million contract with the Spurs. As a result of this contract, Kawhi's annual salary jumped from $3 million to $16 million to $17 million. Leonard's 2019 contract with the LA Clippers was recorded as a three-year deal, amounting to $103,137,300. In March 2021 Kawhi paid $17 million for a home in LA's Pacific Palisades neighborhood and he also owns a $7 million condo in downtown Los Angeles in a Ritz Carlton building. It is reported that his net worth is $70 million.