Frank: Clippers want to keep Kawhi, PG 'for a long time'

President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank is determined to keep Kawhi Leonard and Paul George with the Los Angeles Clippers beyond the upcoming season.

Both players have one more guaranteed year on their contracts but are eligible for extensions this summer.

"We want to keep them as Clippers for a long time," Lawrence told reporters Thursday, per NBA writer Mark Medina. "We look forward to those conversations. The No. 1 goal is, 'How can we build a sustainable championship team?'"

Leonard and George hold identical $48.8-million player options for 2024-25. Each can decline the option in favor of a four-year, $220.6-million deal, according to HoopsHype's Yossi Gozlan.

Alternatively, each star can opt into the final year of his current contract and ink a three-year extension worth approximately $167.5 million, per Gozlan.

Los Angeles fell in five games to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of this year's playoffs, with George sidelined by a knee sprain for the entire series and Leonard missing the final three games due to a knee injury. Frank confirmed Thursday that Leonard has a torn meniscus.

Leonard played 52 regular-season games after missing the entire 2021-22 campaign recovering from a torn ACL, while George played 56 games.

Despite another season derailed by their injuries, Frank believes he's got a championship-caliber squad with Leonard and George.

"Every year you have those guys, they give you a chance," Frank said. "It's about surrounding those guys to improve your chances."

Los Angeles will return most of its roster next season as Russell Westbrook and Mason Plumlee are the Clippers' only notable free agents. However, the club already has an estimated luxury-tax bill of $134.3 million, trailing only the Golden State Warriors, per Spotrac.