Kawhi Leonard & Chris Paul To Enter Free Agency: Report

BYCole BlakeUpdated on September 26, 20223.7K Views

Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul

Kawhi Leonard and Chris Paul have both opted to enter free agency.

Both Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard and Pheonix Suns veteran Chris Paul have opted to enter free agency ahead of Monday's 6:00 PM ET start time. Despite declining their respective contract options, both players are expected to return to their former teams after negotiating new deals.

"Multiple teams I’ve spoken with have said the message from Phoenix is abundantly clear that Chris Paul will re-up with the #Suns and therefore have little reason to pursue him in FA — despite the immense interest CP would command," ESPN's Jordan Schultz reported on Twitter.

Harry How / Getty Images

Paul joined the Suns in 2020 and was set to make $44,211,146 for the 2021-22 season. With the Suns, Paul led Phoenix to the team's first NBA Finals appearance since 1992-93.

As for Leonard, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski says the superstar turned down his $36 million salary for the 2021-22 season, but also will likely return to L.A.

"Kawhi Leonard has declined his $36M player option for next season and becomes a free agent, per source," Woj tweeted. "Now, the expectation is that Leonard will negotiate a new deal to stay with Clippers."

Now being a 10-year veteran, Leonard will be eligible for the 35 percent max extension worth at least $39,344,970 per season.

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About The Author

Cole Blake

Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.