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New on Sports Illustrated: NBA Rumors: Kawhi Will Become Free Agent and Re-Sign With Clippers

Kawhi Leonard will reportedly decline his $36 million player option but is expected to negotiate a new deal with the Clippers.

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NBA free agency is scheduled to begin Monday at 6 p.m. ET but ahead of the frenzy multiple star players have elected to decline their player options and hit the market. Most notably, Clippers star Kawhi Leonard.

Leonard declined his $36 million player option, per Yahoo Sports's Chris Haynes, and later confirmed by ESPN. Leonard will hit free agency this offseason but is expected to re-sign with the Clippers and negotiate a new deal.

Leonard, 30, had offseason surgery on a partially torn ACL that sidelined him during the second half of his team's playoff run and is looking for some new money.

He's eligible for a salary worth 35% of the salary cap, or $39 million, and could earn $175 million in the next four years, per Yahoo Sports. Leonard averaged 24.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game last season and was named to his third All-NBA first team.

Here's a few more players who will be joining him in the free agent pool:

Suns point guard Chris Paul is declining his $44.2 million player option for the 2021–22 season and will enter free agency this offseason, per The Athletic's Shams Charania.
There's optimism that Paul will reach an agreement with the Suns on a new deal by Monday night, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Grizzlies declined Justice Winslow's $13 million team option and he will enter free agency, according to The Athletic.
The Heat are declining Andre Igoudala's $15 million team option according to ESPN, and picked up Goran Dragić's $19.4 million team option.

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