Clippers Notes: Kawhi, Lue, Investigation, Garland, Offseason

A couple days after Kawhi Leonard declined to discuss his future, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank reaffirmed the Clippers‘ commitment to the star forward, writes Kris Rhim of ESPN.com.

“Our plan is to win with Kawhi,” Frank said. “We obviously showed as an organization that we want to continue and we are driven to win. So, at the appropriate time, we’ll sit down with Kawhi, and very similar to 2024, lay out our plan. And if our goals are aligned, then we’d like to win with Kawhi.”

The two-time Finals MVP is entering the final year of his contract, which will pay him $50.3MM in 2026/27. He’ll be eligible this offseason to sign a two-year extension.

As Rhim notes, the Clippers made a couple major trades ahead of the February deadline, sending James Harden to Cleveland for Darius Garland and Ivica Zubac to Indiana for Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, and two first-round picks. Frank thinks those moves put the team in a better position to contend in the future.

“I think we do have great hope and optimism with our future,” he said. “Because as we build that bridge from competitive to contender, we’ve put ourselves in a very good position with emerging young players, draft capital and cap space going forward.”

Here’s more on the Clippers:

• Law Murray of The Athletic passes along several more quotes from Frank’s 45-minute press conference. The longtime executive confirmed head coach Tyronn Lue, who is under contract until 2029, isn’t going anywhere, as Murray previously reported. “I thought Ty and the staff did an unbelievable job of, every day, showing up with a great spirit, and just kept at it,” Frank said. “Ty’s an incredible coach, an incredible partner. And one of the characteristics we look for, not just in staff, but also in players, are people who are driven to improve. And all of us, you know, are very much driven to improvement.”
• Frank also doubled down on comments he made at the beginning of 2025/26, expressing confidence that the NBA’s investigation into Leonard’s alleged no-show endorsement deal with Aspiration will result in a significant punishment for the franchise. “If you know (owner) Steve (Ballmer) and know Steve’s integrity, you know there’s nothing to it,” Frank said. “And I can’t comment on the investigation, but I will stand by what I said up here back in September, October, whenever it was, that, you know, we believe and we’re very confident we’re on the right side of this.”
• Frank said he’d like to see Garland focus on adding strength to his frame in addition to getting healthy after dealing with a nagging toe injury for most of the last year, Murray writes. “The offseason is the time where you can make great gains with your body,” Frank said. “And I think when you look at the — in this league — smaller guards who have been able to excel, it’s the strength part of it.”
• Frank said the team needs to improve its rebounding, secondary ball-handling and shooting, according to Murray, who points out that Frank made similar comments last year.
• Determining Leonard’s future, finding a workable contract with Mathurin, who will be a restricted free agent, and looking for a new starting center should be the Clips’ top three priorities entering the offseason, per Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.