The philosopher , "Real G's move in silence like lasagna." Kawhi Leonard may ha

The philosopher, "Real G's move in silence like lasagna." Kawhi Leonard may have never heard that line, but he sure embodies it.Fresh off his second title and NBA Finals MVP, Jim Plunkett Jersey Leonard realized he had more power in free agency than any player in the league. He controlled every aspect of negotiations with the Clippers, Lakers and Raptors, and heactivelyto play with him while contemplating his choices. The Leonard sweepstakes ultimately ended with both Leonard and George on the Clippers, making Los Angeles .NBA FREE AGENCY 2020:But Leonard didn't sign a four-year, $142 million max contract with the Clippers. He agreed to a three-year, $103 million deal with a player option for the third season, according to .Why do those numbers matter? Glad you asked...Kawhi Leonard sets himself up for another huge contractAs the saying goes, Much like Kevin Durant andLeBronJames, Leonard will make significant money and maintain flexibility with this two-plus-one deal.Kawhi Leonard contractAgeSalary2019-2028$32.7 million2020-2129$34.3 million2021-22 (player option)30$36.0 millionLeonard can re-enter free agency after the 2020-21 season by declining his player optionas a 10-year veteran, which allows the Clippers to offer him a max contract worth 35 percent of the team's cap.In this case, Leonard would be projected to sign a four-year, $196 million contract with the Clippers. That would help Leonard recoup the dollars left behind when he asked out of San Antonio.(He could also take that 2021-22 option and then go for the full five-year max.)If Kawhi Leonard took a 35% supermax from SAS, he wouldve made $222M over next 5 years.Hes now set Russ Francis Jersey himself up to opt out in 2021 and get his 35% max from LAC. If he does, hed make $209M over same 5 years (a $13M discount), but lock in an extra year paying him $54M at age 33. Albert Nahmad (@AlbertNahmad) Then again, we're talking about a guy after his last contract extension. Leonard might not care all that much as long as "Board man gets fed."Kawhi Leonard is now on the same timeline as Paul GeorgeGeorge agreed to a three-plus-one contract with the Thunder last summer. It was a ma sive victory for Oklahoma City after general manager Sam Presti traded for George with no guarantee he would be anything more than a rental.Yeah, about thatNow that George is heading to Los Angeles, he aligns perfectly with Leonard. That's worth noting because this could be a partnership Leonard and George want Dont'a Hightower Jersey to keep in place beyond their current deals.:At the same time he was meeting with theLos Angeles LakersandToronto Raptorsthis week, Leonard was meeting, calling and texting with George, New England Patriots Accessories trying to convince him to find a way out of Oklahoma City.Like Durant, George was flattered by Leonard's recruiting. The two had a fair amount in common. They'd grown up in the Los Angeles area at about the same time. George, 29, is from Palmdale, a dusty desert town about an hour and a half north of L.A. Leonard, 28, is from Riverside, a sprawling Inland Empire town about an hour and a half east of L.A. Both had been lightly recruited out of high school, found their footing as players at mid-major colleges (George at Fresno State, Leonard at San Diego State) and then quietly entered the NBA as mid-first-round picks.Still, Leonard's recruiting efforts caught George by surprise.Said one source close to George, "For a quiet guy, he's a hell of a recruiter."Not every player can call up another star and persuadehim to immediately request a trade. This dynamic duo should work well together on the floor, but there could also be a bond beyond the court.The Clippers are already on the clockLeonard ditched the Spurs, one of the most succe sful franchises in NBA history. He walked away fromthe Raptors after a championship season. He helped force the Thunder into a trade. He kept the Lakers involved in his free agency chase long enough so they'd mi s out on other targets before settling for leftovers. (Maybe that wasn't an intended consequence of waiting out the week to sign with the Clippers, but Christian Barmore Jersey it was a consequence nonethele s.)So if you're Clippers president Lawrence Frank or general manager Michael Winger, you better check all of Leonard's boxes in the next two years. The Clippers have a geographic advantage the Raptors never did, but that alone isn't enough to ensure Leonard stays through the rest of his prime.It's extremely smart for Leonard to create this kind of leverage. He is telling Los Angeles' front office that it must continue to be all-in with winning moves. The Clippers can't afford to lose Leonard and George because they unloaded a crazy amount of a sets in the trade with OKC.Imagine the kind of teams that could be formed if Leonard and George become unrestricted free agents in 2021.Po sible NBA free agents available in 2021:Kawhi LeonardLeBron JamesPaul GeorgeBradley BealBlake GriffinRudy GobertJrue HolidayCJ McCollumOtto PorterMike ConleyLaMarcus AldridgeDeMar DeRozanAndre DrummondSteven AdamsGordon HaywardAlso po sible Giannis gets there Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) , "Weve reached the stage where an exit Matthew Slater Jersey should be the expectation." Nothing can be a sumed in the NBA, especially when it comes to the future of superstars.The Clippers pulled off an unlikelyLeonard-George heist this summer, but the real work has only just begun.