Clippers Front Office and Star Departures: Why Paul George, James Harden and Kawhi Leonard Left

Front Office
Written by christopher martinez

The short answer: In 2024, Paul George left after the Clippers wouldn't give him a fourth year or a no-trade clause. In February 2026, James Harden was traded after the Clippers declined to talk about an extension or guarantee his 2026-27 option. In 2026, Kawhi Leonard was traded to Toronto after the team made "no long-term commitment" to him in an offseason dominated by the NBA's Aspiration investigation. There is a pattern in how Lawrence Frank and Steve Ballmer handle aging stars: they draw the line at term, not salary. But calling it "refusing to pay" is only partly right, and in Kawhi's case the league concluded the Clippers had done the opposite.

That last point matters, so this piece takes the question seriously instead of assuming the answer: is this a front office that keeps letting stars walk, or one that keeps declining to bet on 34- to 36-year-olds? Here is what the record shows, one case at a time.

Why did Paul George leave the Clippers?

Short answer: The two sides got to roughly the same annual money, but not the same length or security. George wanted a fourth year or a no-trade clause. The Clippers stayed at three years, citing the second apron and the age of their core, and George took a four-year, $212 million max from Philadelphia.

The contract backdrop

George signed a four-year, $176 million extension in December 2020 that ran through 2024-25, with a player option for that final season (Russo Writes). That option was worth $48.7 million (Los Angeles Times). Both stars became extension-eligible during 2023-24. On Jan. 10, 2024, Leonard agreed to a three-year, $152.3 million extension through 2026-27 (LA Times; ClutchPoints). George did not.

George's side, in his own words

George laid out the whole negotiation on the July 8, 2024 episode of Podcast P with Paul George, titled "Paul George on Signing with 76ers, Clippers Contract Negotiations, Conversation with Kawhi & More" (YouTube; clip posted by @PodcastPShow). The quotes below follow the transcription published by CBS Sports unless noted.

He opened by saying leaving was never the plan:

"Just to put it out there, I never wanted to leave L.A. L.A. is home, this is where I wanted to finish at, and I wanted to work as hard as possible to win one in L.A."

The first offer, which he placed around October 2023, set the tone:

"So the first initial deal was like two years, 60 [million]. So I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa. So I'm like, no, I'm not signing that."

He called that opening proposal "kind of disrespectful" (CBS Sports; LA Times). The offers went up "inches, inches, inches," he said. Then Leonard signed, and George asked for parity:

"Then I hear wind of what they're going to give Kawhi so I'm like, just give me what Kawhi got. Y'all view us the same."

According to George, the Clippers said no before the All-Star break, and he paused talks for the rest of the season. After the first-round loss to Dallas, the offer reached three years and $150 million. That is where the money stopped being the issue:

"I presented the three [years], 150, no trade [clause]. Cause in the meeting, they're like 'we want you here long-term, when you're retired we want you to be a Clipper for a lifetime, all of this stuff. So I'm like, cool, give me the three years, 150 [million], no-trade then. Like I'm taking less, but at least I know I'm here. They didn't want to do no trade."

So he asked for a fourth year:

"So then I'm like, all right, well then it only makes sense for me to do four years, 212 [million]. At least pay me my money. If y'all going to trade me, y'all going to trade me, but at least now I'm not in a situation where I could have got more, had I just gone to free agency, then take this deal where y'all could ship me wherever and now I'm on this deal I didn't want."

And on how it ended:

"I thought I played well enough for them to be like, 'you know what? He's a part of our future.' I thought I did that. I thought I earned that."

"I love Steve [Ballmer], I love Lawrence [Frank], but at that point it didn't even feel right to come back with that type of energy and be comfortable playing back in L.A."

George opted out on June 29, 2024. His agent met with Frank the next day, and on July 1 he agreed to terms with the 76ers (LA Times). He also said he told Leonard privately before leaving: "I owed Kawhi that conversation" (LA Times).

The Clippers' side

The front office's argument was about the 2023 collective bargaining agreement, not affection. At his June 27, 2024 post-draft media session, Frank said:

"When your better players are in their 30s and you're trying to build a sustainable roster, it impacts it... it's not even about the money as it is, how are you going to build a sustainable roster [and] maintain your tools to have transactional flexibility? And with that comes really, really hard decisions." (Russo Writes)

Ballmer said three weeks later that the team "made Paul what I consider a great offer. But it was a great offer in terms of us thinking about how to win championships. It wasn't what Paul wanted." He added that a team over the second apron "better feel like you got a clear shot" (CBS Sports). On the personal side, he said: "I hated it."

The math was real. The 2024-25 second apron was set at $188.931 million (NBA.com). CBS Sports reported that re-signing George at about $50 million a year would have put the Clippers over that line in 2024-25, and likely in 2025-26 as well (CBS Sports). A league source told Russo Writes the team "never budged from their three-year contract offer," intending to keep its stars on aligned timelines (Russo Writes).

Verdict: This is the case that fits the thesis best. Still, the gap was one year and a clause, not a lowball. The Clippers' final offer was about $50 million a year. They just wouldn't guarantee a 34-year-old a fourth season, and George was 34 when he left (Russo Writes).

Why did James Harden leave the Clippers?

Short answer: The Clippers traded him to Cleveland for Darius Garland and a 2026 second-round pick at the February 2026 deadline. The deal was agreed on Feb. 3 and made official Feb. 4 (NBA.com; Hoops Rumors). The sticking point was future security: Harden wanted his 2026-27 money guaranteed and a talk about an extension, and the Clippers did not.

The contract backdrop

Unlike George, Harden was paid by the Clippers twice. He re-signed for two years and $70 million on June 30, 2024 (Russo Writes), then declined his option in 2025 and signed a new two-year, $81.5 million deal (ESPN; NBA.com). The structure is the whole story. He made $39.2 million in 2025-26. His 2026-27 player option was worth $42.3 million, but only $13.3 million was guaranteed if he picked it up, and the rest would not become guaranteed until July 11 (Hoops Rumors).

What happened

He was playing well when it ended: 25.4 points and 8.1 assists through 44 games, his highest scoring average since 2019-20, after a 6-21 team start (NBA.com). NBC Sports reported that Harden "sought assurances that the Clippers would not exercise their option, so he would receive his full salary next season," and wanted to discuss an extension the next summer. The Clippers, "looking to pivot away from the Harden/Kawhi Leonard era," did not want to discuss one, so the two sides worked together on a trade, and reports described "no animosity" (NBC Sports). Hoops Rumors reported that his push for a new guaranteed two-year deal that L.A. "wasn't prepared to give him" was "rumored to be one key factor" (Hoops Rumors).

Tyronn Lue's comment the night the news broke: "Who wouldn't want to have James Harden?" (NBA.com).

What happened next

Harden declined the $42.3 million option in June 2026 and re-signed with Cleveland on a three-year, $97 million deal with a third-year player option, which the Cavaliers announced on Sept. 8, 2026 (NBA.com; ESPN). That is about $32 million a year, a lower annual salary than his Clippers deal, in exchange for the term L.A. would not give.

Verdict: This one only partly fits. The Clippers didn't refuse to pay Harden. They paid him twice and turned a 36-year-old on an expiring deal into a 26-year-old two-time All-Star signed through 2027-28 (Hoops Rumors). He also didn't walk away. He was traded. What does fit is the same red line as with George: no long guarantees for a star in his mid-30s.

Why did Kawhi Leonard leave the Clippers?

Short answer: The Clippers traded him to the Toronto Raptors. The deal was agreed on June 30, 2026, put on hold during the NBA's salary-cap circumvention investigation, and completed Sept. 14, 2026 (ESPN). With one year left at $50.3 million, Leonard preferred to stay, but ESPN reported the franchise "made no long-term commitment to him this offseason" (ESPN).

The contract backdrop

This is the case that complicates the thesis most. The Clippers did extend Leonard: three years and $152.3 million in January 2024, running through 2026-27. ClutchPoints noted at the time that it was less than the four-year, $220 million maximum he could have received (ClutchPoints). By the summer of 2026 he was 35, coming off an All-NBA Second Team season (27.9 points in 65 games), and entering the final year of that deal (NBA.com; LA Times).

From "our plan is to win with Kawhi" to Toronto

At his April 2026 end-of-season news conference, Frank said: "Our plan is to win with Kawhi... 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" (ESPN). Within two months, the goals had apparently stopped lining up. Shams Charania reported that "at the crux of this, the Clippers are moving in a younger direction," and Leonard's representatives told teams Toronto was the only place he would commit to long term if he were traded (Sportsnet). The LA Times reported San Antonio was also on that short list (LA Times).

The Clippers received Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round swap, and second-round picks in 2030 and 2033. Leonard waived a $7.45 million trade kicker to make it work (NBA.com; ESPN). Toronto then gave him the extension L.A. would not. The Raptors announced a multi-year extension in late September, reported at two years and $115 million (NBA.com; Yahoo Sports).

The Aspiration context

On Sept. 2, 2026, the NBA ruled that the Clippers violated the salary-cap circumvention rules by initiating and facilitating off-court deals for Leonard with four companies doing business with the team: Aspiration, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics and Lockton. The penalties were five forfeited first-round picks (2029 through 2033), a $30 million fine, a one-year suspension for Ballmer, a one-year unpaid suspension for business president Gillian Zucker, and a six-month unpaid suspension for Frank. Leonard was ordered to pay $700,000 (NBA.com). His Aspiration endorsement was worth $28 million (ESPN).

Verdict: Kawhi doesn't fit the "refused to pay" premise, and CNI should say so plainly. The league found the Clippers' problem with Leonard was improperly helping him earn more, not paying him too little. The real story of his exit is the one that runs through all three cases: a franchise getting younger, unwilling to make a new long-term guarantee to a star in his mid-30s, with the investigation hanging over the 2026 offseason.

Summary table: Clippers star departures, 2024 to 2026

Player Departure date Last Clippers contract What he wanted What LAC offered Where he went
Paul George Opted out June 29, 2024; agreed with PHI July 1, 2024 4 yrs, $176M (signed Dec. 2020); $48.7M 2024-25 player option 3 yrs, $150M plus no-trade clause, or 4 yrs, $212M Opened at 2 yrs, $60M (per George); final about 3 yrs, $150M, no NTC, no 4th year 76ers, 4 yrs, $212M (free agency)
James Harden Traded Feb. 3, 2026 (official Feb. 4) 2 yrs, $81.5M (2025); $39.2M in 2025-26, $42.3M 2026-27 option ($13.3M guaranteed) Full 2026-27 guarantee and extension talks (reported) No extension discussion (reported); traded with his cooperation Cavaliers (for Darius Garland and a 2026 2nd); re-signed 3 yrs, $97M
Kawhi Leonard Agreed June 30, 2026; completed Sept. 14, 2026 3 yrs, $152.3M (Jan. 2024); $50.3M in 2026-27 Preferred to stay; long-term extension "No long-term commitment" (reported) Raptors (for Ingram, Dick, two 1sts, a swap and two 2nds); extension reported at 2 yrs, $115M

CNI read: pattern or prudence?

It's both, and the split is worth spelling out.

The pattern is real, but it's about term, not money. In all three cases, the Frank-Ballmer front office reached the same decision point: a star in his mid-30s asking for one more guaranteed year than the team wanted to give. With George, it was the fourth year. With Harden, it was the 2026-27 guarantee plus an extension. With Leonard, it was any extension at all. Every time, the Clippers said no, and every time, another team said yes. The Sixers gave George four years, Cleveland gave Harden three, and Toronto gave Leonard two more.

"Refused to pay" overstates it. George's final offer was about $50 million a year. Harden got paid in 2024 and again in 2025. Leonard got a three-year extension in 2024. And the NBA's Sept. 2 findings say the organization went too far for Leonard, not too short. A fan base can fairly argue this front office is too cautious. It can't fairly argue it's cheap.

The asset ledger is mixed. George left for nothing, after costing the Clippers Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a historic package of picks in 2019 (CBS Sports). That is the strongest knock on the process. Harden and Leonard both brought back real value, including a 26-year-old All-Star and two unprotected firsts, because the team acted before their contracts ran out. Some of that value has to make up for the five firsts the league took away.

The open question is the bet itself. The 2024 reasoning was that the second apron punishes teams that pay aging cores without "a clear shot," in Ballmer's words. That's defensible. But the stars kept producing elsewhere or on the way out: Harden posted his best scoring season in six years in 2025-26, and Leonard made All-NBA Second Team. Whether passing on those years was prudence or a missed window depends on what Garland, Ingram, Dick and the Toronto picks become. That's where this beat goes next.

Sources

christopher martinez
Next

Clippers Kobe Sanders On/Off Breakdown: Why LA Is +30 With Him and -36 Without