B/R NBA’s Max 5 Series: Is Kawhi Leonard Really a Maximum-Contract Player?

June 23rd, 2015 by Jared Dubin Leave a reply »



This is the second installment in a five-part series where we'll be discussing whether or not five of the NBA's biggest free agents are worth maximum-salary contracts. The first installment covered Chicago Bulls swingman Jimmy Butler. Below, we dig into San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard. 

The San Antonio Spurs and then-reigning NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard did not come to terms on a contract extension prior to the start of the 2014-15 NBA season for a few good reasons.

If the Spurs had signed Leonard to a contract extension that paid him any more than his $7,235,148 cap hold next season, it would have eaten into San Antonio's salary-cap space to chase potential replacements for players like Tim Duncan and/or Manu Ginobili during the summer of 2015.

(The latest buzz is courtesy of Tony Parker, who told the San Antonio Express-News' Jeff MdcDonald (h/t CBS Sports) that he believes that both players will return for next season, but the Spurs didn't know that ahead of the October 2014 extension deadline.)

An extra $8-plus million in salary-cap space could prove usef ...

Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by

Advertisement

Comments are closed.