Los Angeles Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said on Friday that the organization’s offseason priority is to keep star forward Kawhi Leonard and build a championship roster around him.
“Our plan is to win with Kawhi,” Frank told reporters, according to ESPN’s Kris Rihm. “At the appropriate time, we’ll sit down, lay out our plan, and if our goals are aligned, we’d like to win with Kawhi.”
Leonard, who will turn 35 in June, declined to address his future after the team’s play-in loss to the Golden State Warriors earlier this week. “Let me cry about this loss a little bit more,” he said. “We’ll have our discussions when that time comes.”
The forward is coming off his most productive offensive campaign, averaging a career-best 27.9 points in 65 games. Despite those numbers, the Clippers missed the playoffs, marking the first time Leonard was healthy for a full season but did not reach the postseason.
Los Angeles made several significant moves at February’s trade deadline, sending James Harden to Cleveland for Darius Garland and dealing center Ivica Zubac to Indiana in a package that brought back Bennedict Mathurin and other assets.
Frank characterized the reshuffling as part of a win-now approach. “We have great hope and optimism,” he said. “We’ve put ourselves in a good position with young players, draft capital and cap space.”
Off the court, the NBA is investigating Leonard’s past endorsement agreement with Aspiration, a former team sponsor that later declared bankruptcy, to determine whether the deal violated salary-cap rules. Frank declined to elaborate, stating, “If you know Steve Ballmer and his integrity, you know there’s nothing to it.”
For now, the team’s stance is clear: the Clippers want Leonard to remain the centerpiece as they attempt to return to contention, with formal discussions expected later in the offseason.
Source: Hoops Wire
