Kawhi Leonard finalizing deal for Clippers return

Kawhi Leonard might not be back on the basketball court anytime soon, but he is back with the Clippers.

After declining his player option with the Clippers for next season and becoming an unrestricted free agent on Sunday, the first-team All-NBA superstar has agreed to return to the team he has called home the last two seasons, according to a person not authorized to talk publicly about the matter.

Terms of the deal are still to be finalized.

The Clippers had long been pegged the favorites to re-sign Leonard because of the lengths they have gone to acquire and accommodate the superstar and the proximity to his family in Southern California, but that opinion was not universally held within the league as suitors prepared to pitch the 30-year-old forward who over the last two seasons is the only player to average at least 26.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.7 steals.

Instead, teams with cap space moved quickly to fill it when free agency opened Monday, unwilling to wait on Leonard’s own timetable. As cap space dried up around the NBA, the long-expected move followed: Leonard’s return.

Two years ago, Leonard kept the NBA on edge awaiting his decision for five days of free agency after meeting with the Clippers, Lakers and Toronto. This time, the Clippers waited about four days to hear the answer they wanted.

His decision to decline his player option for 2021-22 was not unexpected; Leonard himself signaled the likelihood he would choose this route in December, when he noted that, if healthy, “the best decision” would be to hit unrestricted free agency. The chief reasoning was not necessarily because of a wandering eye, but timing — Leonard has completed his 10th NBA season, making him now eligible to sign a maximum contract worth 35% of a team’s salary cap. As a free agent, he is set to earn $39 million next season, or $3 million more than he would have earned had he exercised his player option.

Leonard underwent surgery July 13 to repair what the Clippers called a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Orthopedic surgeons say most ACL injuries typically carry a recovery time of nine months to one year. The chance he could miss all of next season, however, did not scare away potential suitors, who likely looked to the example of Kevin Durant as proof that a 30-year-old superstar coming off a major injury can rebound to his previous form after recovery.

Leonard had averaged 30.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists while shooting 57% during the postseason, including 39% on three-pointers, before injuring his knee in the fourth game of the second-round series against Utah. He missed the Clippers’ final eight playoff games.