No Kawhi Leonard Announcement Expected Today

Our wait for Kawhi Leonard‘s free agent decision appears likely to extend until at least Saturday. According to Cris Carter of Fox Sports 1 (Twitter link), Leonard remains undecided and doesn’t plan to finalize and announce his decision today.

Interestingly, Carter also adds that Leonard is expected to sign a long-term contract with whichever team he chooses. There had been some speculation that he might sign a one- or two-year deal in order to potentially line himself up for a larger maximum-salary contract in 2021, when he has 10+ years of NBA experience. Carter suggests that’s not the plan.

[RELATED: Poll: Which team will Kawhi Leonard choose?]

The NBA’s July moratorium will end on Saturday at noon eastern time, at which point teams will be able to finalize the free agent deals and trades that they’ve agreed upon over the last week.

While that doesn’t exactly represent a deadline for Leonard, the Raptors, Clippers, and especially the Lakers will presumably be hoping a decision comes in by then. The Clippers and Lakers each have $32MM+ in cap room that they could commit to other players if they don’t land Kawhi.

The Lakers would lose some of their cap room if they finalize the Anthony Davis trade with the Pelicans right away when the moratorium lifts — their $32MM in cap space relies on signing free agents first, then completing the Davis deal using salary-matching rules, since AD’s salary will exceed their total outgoing salaries. So if Leonard’s decision extends beyond the end of the July moratorium, they’ll want to wait a little longer to finalize that trade.

However, the Pelicans have a subsequent trade with the Hawks that hinges on getting the No. 4 pick from the Lakers, and Atlanta will flip one of the draft picks involved in that deal in another trade, and so on. Several teams – including the Wizards, Sixers, and Pistons, who are also all linked to the series of moves – will be anxious to complete those trades to get their draftees into Summer League action in Las Vegas.

Other free agents, including Danny Green, could also be impacted by the wait for Leonard, since their options will be impacted by which teams still have cap space available. NBA free agency appears to be a little stuck at the moment as everyone waits on Kawhi — no deals have been agreed upon since Wednesday night.

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