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 won’t 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.
Clippers Notes: Lue, Garland, Kawhi, Offseason, CP3
The Clippers have registered an NBA-best 15 consecutive winning seasons, but they’ve gone five straight years without winning a playoff series and, after Wednesday’s loss to Golden State, have now failed to make it out of the play-in tournament twice during those five years, writes Law Murray of The Athletic.
Following an unceremonious end to a turbulent season, the Clippers’ next steps are unclear. A league source tells Murray that head coach Tyronn Lue – under contract through 2029 – isn’t going anywhere this offseason, and neither is the team’s new point guard of the present and future, Darius Garland. But beyond that, everything is in flux.
Kawhi Leonard‘s future, which he declined to discuss after Wednesday’s loss, is the biggest question mark hanging over the franchise. A league source tells Murray that the Clippers don’t believe the NBA’s investigation into Leonard’s alleged no-show endorsement deal with Aspiration will result in a significant punishment for the franchise — or in the star forward’s contract being voided. But even if that’s the case, Leonard will have to be traded or extended in order to avoid having him play out an expiring contract in 2026/27.
And beyond Leonard, there are several decisions facing the Clippers up and down their roster. John Collins, whom Murray describes as a good locker room fit, will be an unrestricted free agent, while newcomer Bennedict Mathurin is entering restricted free agency. The team holds options on Brook Lopez, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Nicolas Batum, Jordan Miller, and Kobe Sanders, while defensive aces Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr. will be eligible for extensions.
As the Clippers prepare for an eventful offseason, here are a few notes on the club:
- Garland, who underwent surgery on his left big toe last offseason and sprained his right big toe earlier in the season, said on Wednesday that he has been playing on “nine toes,” per Dan Woike of The Athletic (Twitter link). As Garland explained, the right toe feels fine now, but the left one has remained an issue. The guard’s goal this offseason is to “get healthy.”
- Previewing the Clippers’ summer, ESPN’s Bobby Marks suggests that adding frontcourt help and acquiring a play-maker to back up Garland should be priorities for the club. Marks also points out that operating as an under-the-cap team is a possibility, though it would require L.A. to part ways with several role players, so operating above the cap seems more likely. The Clippers should have more than enough flexibility to re-sign Mathurin and use the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception if Collins isn’t re-signed, Marks adds.
- Over four months after the Clippers announced they were parting ways with him, Chris Paul wasn’t shedding any tears when their season ended on Wednesday. As Murray notes (via Twitter), the veteran point guard posted the “I stopped by one of my biggest hater’s funeral” meme on his Instagram account shortly after L.A. was eliminated.
Pacific Notes: Lue, Curry, Jackson, Westbrook, Allen
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue was the head coach of the Cavaliers in three of Cleveland’s matchups with the Warriors in the Finals. He now must face Golden State and Stephen Curry again in the play-in tournament on Wednesday. The losing team in the No. 9 vs. 10 matchup will see its season end.
“I’m sick of it,” Lue said playfully when asked about facing Curry again in the postseason. “He’s just a guy that can explode. He can score 50 if you’re not careful. He only had 24 last game, but he had nine three-point attempts. We can’t let him get that many attempts up from the three-point line. We gotta try to keep him down as much as possible… We gotta be locked in to what we’re trying to do defensively.”
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Clippers could have big man Isaiah Jackson — out since March 27 due to an ankle injury — available for the play-in game against the Warriors. He played 5-on-5 on Monday and practiced on Tuesday, Law Murray of The Athletic reports, and is listed as questionable (Twitter links). Jackson averaged 8.1 points and 5.2 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game in 15 appearances off the bench last month.
- Russell Westbrook wouldn’t mind staying put with the Kings, Sean Cunningham of KCRA News tweets. “If I’m welcomed back, then I’ll be back,” Westbrook said. The veteran guard was on a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract this season. Playing for his seventh team, Westbrook, 37, averaged 15.2 points, 6.7 assists and 5.4 rebounds in 64 games.
- Suns wing Grayson Allen isn’t active for Tuesday’s play-in tournament game against Portland due to left hamstring soreness, the team tweets. Allen, who suffered the injury last Friday against the Lakers, averaged 16.5 points per game this season, the fourth-best mark on the team. It’s unclear if he’d be available for a second play-in game this Friday or Game 1 of a playoff series on Sunday.
Thunder’s Daigneault, Hawks’ Snyder Named Coaches Of The Month
Mark Daigneault of the Thunder has been named March’s Coach of the Month for the Western Conference, while Quin Snyder of the Hawks has earned the honor in the Eastern Conference, the NBA announced today (Twitter link).
There were no shortage of strong candidates for Coach of the Month recognition in the Western Conference. Daigneault’s OKC squad maintained its spot atop the NBA’s standings by posting a 14-1 record in March, but JJ Redick of the Lakers (15-2) and Mitch Johnson of the Spurs (14-2) also had excellent months. They were nominated for the award too, along with Tyronn Lue of the Clippers (12-6), according to the league (Twitter link).
Snyder, meanwhile, guided the Hawks to a 13-2 record in March, which moved them from play-in territory into the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference standings. That made him the top choice among a group of nominees that also included Kenny Atkinson of the Cavaliers, J.B. Bickerstaff of the Pistons, Mike Brown of the Knicks, Charles Lee of the Hornets, and Joe Mazzulla of the Celtics.
Daigneault and Johnson are the only coaches to win multiple Coach of the Month awards this season, claiming two apiece, while Suns coach Jordan Ott also earned the Western Conference honor in January. In the East, five separate coaches were named Coach of the Month, with Snyder joining Bickerstaff (October/November), Mazzulla (December), Lee (January), and Atkinson (February).
And-Ones: Ott, Lee, No. 1 Pick, Graham, Dort
The Suns’ Jordan Ott and Hornets’ Charles Lee have been named the Western and Eastern Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in January, according to the league (Twitter links). Phoenix went 11-5 last month, while Charlotte posted an 11-6 record.
David Adelman (Nuggets), Chris Finch (Timberwolves) and Tyronn Lue (Clippers) were the other Western Conference nominees. Kenny Atkinson (Cavaliers), J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons) and Joe Mazzulla (Celtics) were also nominated from the Eastern Conference.
Here’s more from around the international basketball world:
- Kansas shooting guard Darryn Peterson and BYU forward AJ Dybantsa loom as the projected top two picks in the upcoming NBA draft, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. ESPN polled 20 NBA scouts and a dozen chose Peterson as the top pick, while Dybantsa garnered the other eight votes. With BYU visiting Kansas this past Saturday, those two stars put on a display to solidify their resumes. Dybantsa had 17 points and Peterson scored 18 in the Jayhawks’ victory. At least 17 NBA teams had reps at the contest. However, Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman claims there’s another legitimate candidate for the top pick (Twitter link). He says multiple front office executives and scouts have Duke’s Cameron Boozer atop their draft boards.
- Former NBA guard Devonte’ Graham and Crvena Zvevda have severed ties. After several consecutive games without playing, Graham agreed to a termination of his contract, according to Eurohoops.net. Graham only played seven EuroLeague games, averaging 3.0 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 11.2 minutes per contest. Graham, who signed with the Serbian club in August, appeared in 336 regular season NBA games, making 171 starts and posting career averages of 11.1 PPG, 2.3 RPG and 4.3 APG.
- Thunder defensive ace Luguentz Dort has hired Klutch Sports as his representative, the agency tweets. Oklahoma City holds an $18.2MM club option on his contract for next season.
More Details On Chris Paul’s Exit From Clippers
Longtime point guard Chris Paul is in his final NBA season and is technically still under contract with the Clippers. However, Los Angeles announced that it was “parting ways” with the future Hall of Famer on December 3, and he is no longer around the team.
Reporting after Paul’s departure shed more light on the situation, with multiple outlets suggesting that the 40-year-old had clashed with players, coaches, and the front office due to his leadership style, which the Clippers found to be “acerbic” and unhelpful in a veteran locker room.
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com takes an in-depth look at Paul’s acrimonious exit, writing that there was no “smoking gun” incident that led to his departure.
“There really wasn’t one thing,” one source close to the situation told Shelburne. “This isn’t like J.R. Smith throwing the soup in Cleveland.”
Instead, there were personality clashes between Paul and various members of the organization, including arguments with head coach Tyronn Lue and “especially” assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy. There were also major differences of opinion on Paul’s role.
According to Shelburne, the Clippers viewed Paul as a low maintenance veteran leader who would play a “very limited” on-court role; Paul confirmed he was OK with that, sources tell Shelburne, but he also wanted a chance to earn playing time and would try to be an “extension of the coaching staff.”
While Paul’s second stint with the Clippers started out well in the offseason, that quickly changed during training camp, as players and coaches “recoiled” from Paul’s suggestions and “abrasive” personality, Shelburne writes.
“That’s how Chris is,” one executive with another team said. “He wears you out. He’s convinced he’s right — and he often is right, which kind of pisses you off — and he’ll go around to everyone until you agree with him.”
Paul’s expectations for his role also changed during that time, as he was spearheading a second unit that was regularly “kicking (the starters’) ass” during camp, as forward John Collins put it. The 12-time All-Star had a substantial role during the preseason as well, Shelburne notes.
“If all they wanted was a cheerleader,” the same rival executive said, “why did they sign Chris Paul? I mean, they had him before. They knew what he was like.”
According to Shelburne’s sources, Paul attempted multiple times during the season to engage in team-building exercises and was concerned about the Clippers’ culture, but his efforts largely fell flat in a quiet locker room. Shelburne also provides more details on Paul’s disagreements with Lue and Van Gundy, his final meeting with president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, and reports that Brook Lopez and Kawhi Leonard were Paul’s “most ardent supporters.”
Shelburne’s story is worth checking out in full for fans of Paul and/or the Clippers.
Pacific Notes: Clippers, Booker, Lakers’ Court, Post, LaVine
The Clippers are tied for 13th in the West at 6-18, but this season hasn’t been the complete disaster that the record would suggest, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register (subscription required). L.A. has been competitive in numerous games before seeing them slip away at the end, including its last two losses at Memphis and Minnesota. The Clippers are only three games away from a play-in spot, and coach Tyronn Lue believes a turnaround is coming.
“We’ve really played some good basketball and had a chance to win those games,” he said. “So, when you look at it and you’re not able to close the game and finish the game, that’s the only thing that’s kind of frustrating. … I mean, we definitely can turn it around. One big shot, one big rebound, one less turnover, things like that. And when you’re able to do that, that’s when you can start winning games.”
Injuries have played a role in the disappointing start, as Bradley Beal was lost for the season after appearing in just six games, Kawhi Leonard has been limited to 14 outings and Derrick Jones Jr. has been sidelined since mid-November with an MCL sprain. Nicolas Batum said the team needs to find a way to overcome that adversity.
“It’s not an excuse, but it is a challenge every day to come with a different lineup,” he said. “When you start losing one, two, three, four, five games, you think about that also. We right now just need to focus on what we have. We have more than enough to beat teams and to be winning games.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- There was hope that Devin Booker might be able to return from a groin injury in time for tonight’s NBA Cup contest at Oklahoma City, but the Suns downgraded him to out shortly before game time, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “He’s continuing to make progress,” coach Jordan Ott said (Twitter video link from Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic). “We checked in with him after his work there in shootaround. He’s making great progress. We just need a couple of days. We’ll be smart with this thing. It’s a long season.”
- The Lakers won’t be using their NBA Cup court when they host the Spurs tonight, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. There were complaints that the surface was too slippery after it was unveiled for a November 25 game, and the Lakers opted for their normal court when they hosted Dallas in another NBA Cup contest three nights later. “That was bad,” Rui Hachimura said after playing on the court, per Dan Woike and Sam Jane of the Athletic. “I felt it right away when I was warming up. It just felt weird. Just like oily, slippery. Everybody was on the floor, literally. Every second.”
- Warriors big man Quinten Post said last season’s playoff series against Houston showed him that he needed to get stronger so he could handle the NBA’s physical style of play, per Spencer Davies of RG. Post didn’t make his NBA debut until after Christmas last season, but now he’s an important part of Golden State’s rotation. “At first, your body has to get used to all the work that you put in, and you’re sore because we spent a lot of time in the weight room this summer,” Post said. “But now that the season has started, I definitely feel different just in being able to hold my ground and going up without fouling.”
- The Kings have ruled Zach LaVine out for Thursday’s game against Denver due to soreness in his right thumb, relays Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). Dennis Schröder is doubtful with a strained right hip flexor.
Kerr, Spoelstra, Lue Top List Of NBA’s Highest-Paid Coaches
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is the NBA’s highest-paid head coach, with an average annual value of $17.5MM on his current contract, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico. Erik Spoelstra of the Heat and Tyronn Lue of the Clippers round out the top three at $15MM per year, Badenhausen adds.
While Kerr is the highest earner among head coaches in the short term, his deal with Golden State expires at the end of the 2025/26 season, whereas Spoelstra (eight years) and Lue (five years) signed longer-term extensions in 2024, so they’re assured of far more overall guaranteed money.
After that top three, there are several coaches in the range of $11MM annually, per Badenhausen: Doc Rivers of the Bucks, Ime Udoka of the Rockets, Joe Mazzulla of the Celtics, and Rick Carlisle of the Pacers.
The Knicks‘ Mike Brown is the only other coach with an average annual value of at least $10MM, with Mavericks coach Jason Kidd coming in at $9.5MM per year and Lakers coach JJ Redick at $9MM annually.
Interestingly, while Spoelstra, Kerr, and Lue are three of the NBA’s four longest-tenured head coaches, the other member of that group – Billy Donovan of the Bulls, the league’s third longest-tenured coach – doesn’t crack the list of top 10 salaries shared by Badenhausen.
Details on the other 20 NBA head coaches’ contracts aren’t included in Badenhausen’s report, but he notes that the lower end of coaching salaries is approximately $4MM per year. Presumably, that figure applies only to coaches who have the title permanently, rather than assistants who have received in-season promotions and are serving as interim replacements, such as James Borrego in New Orleans or Tiago Splitter in Portland.
For what it’s worth, the NBA’s estimated average salary for players in 2025/26 is $13.87MM, so just three of 30 head coaches are earning more than an average player in the league.
Los Angeles Notes: Paul, Lue, Smart, Kleber, James
Chris Paul says he’s “at peace” with the Clippers’ decision to “part ways” with him and is looking forward to his next NBA opportunity, according to Jordan Greene of People Magazine (hat tip to ESPN).
“I’m actually at peace with everything,” he said. “More than anything, I’m excited about being around and getting a chance to play a small role in whatever anything looks like next.”
On a related subject, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue denies reports that he wasn’t on speaking terms with Paul.
“That ain’t true,” Lue said, per Clippers beat writer Joey Linn (Twitter video link). “We were talking. How he gonna play and I’m not talking to him? There was a stretch when he wasn’t gonna play and be out of the rotation, it was tough for him because he’s a competitor.”
Lue added he wasn’t part of the final conversation with Paul when the future Hall of Famer was told by team officials that he was no longer welcome around the club. Lue added that Clippers players aren’t happy about the decision but he has “no problem with Chris.”
Here’s more on the Los Angeles teams:
- Lakers guard Marcus Smart is not on the injury report for the team’s NBA Cup game against the Spurs on Wednesday. Smart missed the last six games due to a back ailment. “Back is feeling good. Felt good in practice today … I’m gonna give it a shot tomorrow and see how it feels,” Smart said, according to Lakers reporter Mike Trudell (Twitter link).
- In fact, the Lakers could be at full strength on Wednesday. Maxi Kleber (lumbar muscle strain) is the only player who is considered questionable to play, NBA insider Marc Stein tweets.
- LeBron James scored 29 points — a season high — against Philadelphia on Sunday, including 10 straight points in the fourth quarter. The Lakers forward feels he’s rounding into form, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “At 40 years old, I mean, it just takes a while for my body to kind of get back into a rhythm,” James said. “And so it felt good (Sunday) to kind of feel like myself a little bit.”
Clippers Notes: Paul, Bogdanovic, Leonard, More
Future Hall-of-Famer Chris Paul is away from the Clippers after the team announced on Wednesday that it would be “parting ways” with the 40-year-old point guard. The surprising news came less than two weeks after the 11-time All-NBA selection confirmed that 2025/26 would be his final season as an NBA player.
Appearing on Amazon Prime Video on Friday (Twitter video link), NBA insider Chris Haynes discussed Paul’s acrimonious exit from Los Angeles.
“The Clippers maintain that there were a series of events and conversations between the front office and Chris Paul over the last few months that ultimately led to his departure,” Haynes said. “The front office believed they had intel that Chris Paul was criticizing the coaching staff, front office and players. And this was something that they felt they’d been hearing for the past couple of months.
“And there was a meeting about a month ago between (president of basketball operations) Lawrence Frank and Chris Paul where Frank addressed this issue again. Chris Paul vehemently denied those accusations. But ultimately Chris Paul elected to apologize to his teammates a few days later if his words or actions were misconstrued.
“(Paul) asked Frank, I was told, to set up a meeting between (Paul) and (head coach) Tyronn Lue — those two haven’t spoken in weeks,” Haynes continued. “Frank said he would get to that — it never happened. Sources said Lue refused to meet with Chris Paul.”
Marc J. Spears of Andscape reported on Thursday that Paul wanted to keep playing this season, and Paul essentially confirmed as much in a text to Haynes (Twitter link).
“I’m just staying ready,” Paul wrote. “I’m hooping right now. I don’t (know) what’s next. I’m still scarred by it all. Still processing everything. But I’m staying ready.”
Here’s more on the Clippers:
- Veteran wing Bogdan Bogdanovic could return to action on Saturday in Minnesota after missing the past eight games with a left hip contusion. He’s probable to suit up against the Wolves, the team announced today. The slumping Clips badly need Bogdanovic’s shot-creation skills, particularly with Bradley Beal out for the year with a fractured hip.
- Kawhi Leonard is not on L.A.’s injury report today and Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link) hears the star forward is expected to play both ends of back-to-backs going forward, assuming he’s healthy. In 13 appearances this season, Leonard has averaged 25.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game, with a shooting line of .494/.385/.971.
- The Clippers are now 2-9 over their past 11 games after dropping Friday’s contest in Memphis. As The Orange County Register relays, the team only managed to score two points over the final six-plus of the fourth quarter and gave up a 9-0 run to conclude the game, which the Clips lost by nine points.