Spurs officially re-sign Kawhi Leonard to reported max deal
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The San Antonio Spurs have officially re-signed Kawhi Leonard, the team announced Thursday.
The two sides agreed to a new deal almost the minute free agency opened on July 1, with Leonard putting pen to paper on a deal reported to be for five years at the maximum salary. If the reported terms are correct and Leonard picks up his option for the fifth season, he'd stand to earn $94.3 million.
It was never believed that Leonard would walk, with both sides wanting to come to terms promptly so the Spurs could then turn their focus to fortifying the core in free agency. That included the Spurs chasing - and landing - LaMarcus Aldridge while convincing Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili to return at heavy discounts. Danny Green was also retained and David West brought in on the veteran's minimum, once again making the Spurs a serious threat for the NBA championship.
Leonard's deal becoming official so late in the free-agent period was a matter of salary cap bookkeeping, as his new salary is appreciably higher than the cap hold that existed before the move was made official. That gave the Spurs some extra flexibility to add Aldridge without losing too many depth pieces.
There's little denying the fact Leonard is deserving of this massive pay increase, with the 24-year-old already owning an NBA championship ring, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award, and NBA Defensive Player of the Year award on his ever-growing resume.
Leonard averaged 16.5 points on 47.9 percent shooting from the field and 34.9 percent from long range in 2014-15. He also chipped in 7.2 rebounds and a league-high 2.3 steals in 64 regular-season appearances while playing some of the best perimeter defense in the league.
The long-presumed heir to the Spurs dynasty when Duncan retires, Leonard now has a long-term counterpart in Aldridge. Together, they'll look to secure Duncan and head coach Gregg Popovich a sixth championship ring.