Annual salary of 50 million yuan is Durant s bargaining chip! The NBA is disappointing super giant, it s time to leave

The NBA Finals are in full swing this season. The Pacers and the Thunder tied 2-2 in the first four games, and the trading market is also hot this summer. Since this year is the year of the draft, many teams have set their direction early, either getting high-ranking talented stars to rebuild, or planning to win in the present, changing the high-ranking lottery pick to fight, helping the team increase the upper limit in a short period of time. The simplest example is the deal between Magic and Grizzlies 7 for 1. Magic took out four first-round picks + one first-round swap right + Pop + Anthony, and got Bain from Grizzlies. With the Celtics Tatum’s Achilles tendon ruptured, many Eastern teams see hope of dominating the Eastern Conference and even winning the championship next season. A whale falls into life, and more teams are destined to participate in the arms race this summer.

And the most eye-catching thing in the offseason is naturally Durant's place to go. There are three points to be sure. First, Durant, who is about to turn 37, will definitely not be able to exchange for Bain-level chips. As he gets older, the market situation plummets. Secondly, Durant hopes to join the three teams, namely the Spurs, Rockets and Heat, but in the words of the Suns, even if Durant is unwilling to make a renewal commitment, the Suns will strive to get the most rewards through this deal, rather than just meeting Durant's designated next goal. Last point, although the Suns hope to take back their first round pick, they have never decided to completely rebuild. Therefore, teams including the Clippers, Raptors, Timberwolves and other teams are also in contact with the Suns, and Durant's next home is still open.

record Windhorst was the first to admit that the Clippers and the Raptors are the two dark horses pursuing Durant. As the draft is getting closer and closer, in the words of Yahoo Sports, Clippers star Leonard has appeared in the bargaining chips in Durant's trading negotiations! First of all, in the words of Los Angeles media, the Suns will definitely ask for Zubac, but the Clippers will definitely not let it go. He and Harden are the real non-sale products of this Clippers, and no one else! Ideally, the Clippers have two first-round picks that can be traded in 30 and 32 years, one can be traded for Clarkston and the other can be sent to the Suns. It is not difficult for the Clippers to raise chips to trade Durant. Judging from the paper strength, if it is Harden + Durant + Leonard + Zubac foursome, the Clippers have full hope of winning the championship next season!

But the key is, why did the Clippers put Leonard on the trading shelves? After leading the Raptors to the championship in the summer of 2019, Leonard came to the Clippers for the past six seasons. He had internal strife in the first year, and suffered a torn cruciate ligament in the second year, and was reimbursed in the third year, and was injured again in the fourth year! Leonard played 68 games in the regular season last season, but was injured in the final stage and was in a state of state in the playoffs! He has been recovering from injuries in the first half of this season, and has played a total of 37 games in the regular season. He was indeed not injured this time in the playoffs, but he averaged only 25 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. When the Clippers were eliminated in the playoffs, ESPN wrote an article bluntly saying that the outside world's criticism of Harden was unfair.

Harden plays a role in this Clippers with the bottom line. He led the Clippers to maintain a 60% winning rate in the regular season, and won 18 games in the last 21 games, finally hit fifth in the Western Conference, selected as the best team and selected as the All-Star. Harden did everything, but he denied Harden all because of the sluggish two games in the playoffs. This is indeed unreasonable. The main reason for the Clippers' elimination this season is that Leonard's dominance has declined. To make the simplest comparison, in the first two years before coming to the Clippers, Leonard played 24 games in the playoffs, averaging 29 points per game. No matter how the regular season performance is, he still won the game in the playoffs. However, this season, based on the regular season retention, the playoff data and performance dominance are insufficient.

And Leonard turns 34 this summer, he has two years left in contract with the Clippers, worth $50 million next season and $50.3 million in the last year. On the one hand, he has not been able to lead the team to the championship or finals level for six seasons in the Clippers. Secondly, Leonard's physical health is much worse than before! Many US media questioned that Leonard seems to have no effect of leading the team in the playoffs to increase the ceiling. Let’s give the simplest example. Leonard played in the Nuggets Series this year. When he was on the court, the team lost 0.2 points in a hundred rounds, and when he was not on the court, the team won 5.1 points in a hundred rounds, and the On-Off value is -5.3! The Nuggets' defensive restrictions on Leonard have indeed reached the extreme, but Leonard only scored 39 points in one game, while the others are about 20-27 points, which is not enough.

In fact, the Clippers have had enough of it. Last summer, there were also rumors about Leonard's transaction scandal, but George was the first to leave because of the maximum salary incident. This season, Harden proved that he has strong ability to guarantee the lower limit if there is Leonard, but Leonard has become a disappointing super giant! Don't be surprised if Leonard is sent away by the Clippers after the trading market opens. The Clippers have exhausted Leonard's patience in the past few years, from luxury tax to lineup creation, including the patience of the team's management. With Harden here, the Clippers' record will not be too bad. As for Leonard, it's time for him to leave.