San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard is expected to re-sign with the team, it's just a matter of when. Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders believe the Spurs will "take care" of Leonard's contract situation sooner than later.
Leonard is the future of the Spurs franchise, but he's set to become a restricted free agent in the summer if San Antonio doesn't extend him before Oct. 31. With two weeks until the extension deadline, Koutroupis believes a deal will likely happen soon.
"There's logic to waiting on extending Leonard, but I just can't shake the feeling that they would prefer to take care of him early," Koutroupis wrote Thursday. "They've tapped him as the future face of the franchise and he's exceeded all expectations. We're talking about a guy who has gone head-to-head with LeBron James in the last two NBA Finals and not only held his own against the league's best player, but won a Finals MVP award while defeating him last season.
"That's a guy who deserves to get paid early. If you look at the Spurs' history, they take care of their elite players."
Koutroupis characterized Leonard earlier in October as caring more about basketball than the money, which makes it unlikely he'll haggle the Spurs for a max contract if the team is unwilling to give it.
"I doubt Kawhi has even been involved in the negotiations at this point," Koutroupis wrote Oct. 9. "He's about as singular focused as any player I've ever seen in my near-decade of covering this game. He lives a humble, modest lifestyle and just wants to win.
He averaged 12.8 points and 6.2 rebounds during the regular season last year, but he shined during the NBA Finals while averaging 17.8 points through five games.
