Clippers want 'to win with Kawhi,' team exec Lawrence Frank says

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Clippers want 'to win with Kawhi,' team exec Lawrence Frank says

2026-04-18 07:35 Last Updated At：08:21

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers are committed to a future with Kawhi Leonard as they transition from being the oldest team in the NBA to a younger one.

"Our plan is to win with Kawhi,” Lawrence Frank, president of basketball operations, said Friday. “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.”

Leonard averaged a career-high 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists while playing in 65 games this season. He turns 35 in June and will enter the final year of a $149.5 million, three-year contract extension that he signed in 2024.

The Clippers would owe him $50.3 million next season, and they can extend his contract for two more seasons after the NBA Finals in June.

After a 6-21 start, the Clippers finished with a winning record (42-40) for the 15th consecutive season. They blew a 13-point lead at home in the final 10 minutes and lost 126-121 to Golden State in a play-in tournament game that ended their season.

Asked about his future Wednesday, Leonard said, “Let me cry about this loss a little bit more. We’ll have our discussions when that time comes.”

Leonard is missing the playoffs for the first time in his career when healthy. In his seven seasons with the Clippers, they reached the Western Conference finals in 2021 and lost in the first round the three previous years.

Also looming over the organization is the NBA's ongoing investigation involving Leonard's endorsement deal with a now-bankrupt former team sponsor, Aspiration. An outside law firm is looking into whether the deal was a way for the Clippers to circumvent the league's salary cap.

“I think that we're going to be in the clear,” Leonard said Wednesday, “so I'm not stressing it.”

Frank said the investigation, which began in September, had no effect on the season.

“If you know (owner) Steve (Ballmer) and know Steve’s integrity, you know there’s nothing to it,” he said. “We believe and we've very confident we’re on the right side of this.”

Even at the team's lowest point, Frank said, there was never any consideration given to firing coach Tyronn Lue.

“I thought Ty and the staff did an unbelievable job,” he said.

Frank met Thursday with the players and basketball operations team to share his viewpoint on the season. It'll be another week or so before the team holds individual exit interviews.

“We’re in this bridge period from competitive to get to contender,” Frank said. “We do have great hope and optimism with our future. We’ve put ourselves in a very good position with emerging young players, draft capital and cap space going forward.”

The team's young returning corps includes Darius Garland, Derrick Jones Jr., Isaiah Jackson and Yanic Konan Niederhauser.

Veteran John Collins is an unrestricted free agent, while Bennedict Mathurin is a restricted free agent. The Clippers hold team options on Kris Dunn, Nicolas Batum, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Brook Lopez, Jordan Miller and Kobe Sanders.

“With any roster move,” Frank said, "how does it help us get closer to contention?”

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The Nigerian army frees 360 abducted people in northeastern Borno state

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The Nigerian army said Sunday it freed 360 people abducted by Boko Haram in southern Borno, in the northeastern part of the country.

The operation, according to the army’s statement, was conducted in the Mandara mountains which form a part of the militant group’s stronghold. It resulted in the release of several people, including children, who had been abducted across different communities in Borno.

Two infants “succumbed to exhaustion" due to the challenging mountainous terrain and the hardship they endured during their prolonged captivity, an army spokesperson, Haruna Sani, said.

“The remaining rescued abductees were successfully evacuated to safe locations for medical care and humanitarian support, marking a major operational success and a significant setback for the terrorist group,” Sani said.

Nigeria faces a complex security crisis, especially in the north where a more than decade-long insurgency and the activities of armed groups that carry out kidnappings for ransom and illegal mining have heightened the country’s security challenges.

Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups are Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, which is affiliated with the Islamic State group and known as Islamic State West Africa Province.

Last month, the West African country said its joint operation with the United States had killed 175 ISWAP fighters.

The insurgency in Nigeria’s northeast has killed thousands of people and displaced millions, according to the United Nations. Analysts say not enough is being done by the government to protect its citizens, despite repeated promises by President Bola Tinubu to curb the crisis.