莱昂纳德谈2年1.15亿续约猛龙：钱不重要，家庭保障才重要

Kawhi Leonard recently sat down with TSN Sports to discuss what led him to rejoin the Raptors and whether his $115 million contract extension played a significant role in that decision.

“I thought, you know, I had good relationships with the front office. Me personally, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the city. The energy, the organization was cool. As I said, I met people with good energy and good personalities, and the relationship stayed,” Kawhi Leonard said while explaining why he rejoined the Raptors.

“So, I don’t know. I didn’t want to put on another organization’s jersey. We did something great here, and I wanted to make history happen again.”

“You know, there were some doubts. But knowing what I did and how I move, I thought the odds of me coming here were 90%. I didn’t think anything else would happen,” Leonard added on whether he considered joining any other team, or if at any point in the summer he thought the trade deal was not going to go through.

Then the reporter asked how important it was for him to sign the contract extension as he decided his future with the Raptors.

“You know, I thank God, the Raptors, and just all the support for believing in me. You know, but it was security for the family,” Kawhi Leonard said while suggesting the extension mattered more to his loved ones than to him.

“But I never really look at the money because I could have stopped playing today with the money I’ve made. So, I’m just fortunate enough to be healthy and able to play the game. That’s what I really want to do,” Leonard added.

“As I said, I thank them for giving me the support and the finances to be able to do it, not just playing for free, but playing for a financial reward… But the money doesn’t drive me. I want to be great regardless of what paycheck I’m getting,” he concluded.

These remarks didn’t sit well with several NBA fans on social media, who flooded the platform with comments about Leonard’s alleged hypocrisy, being punished for circumventing the salary cap while still signing a two-year, $115 million contract extension earlier this summer.

Such comments naturally stir the common man, considering Kawhi Leonard now has the fourth-highest career earnings in league history ($543 million) after his current extension. This makes him one of only eight players in league history to cross the $500 million mark in career earnings (only behind Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James).

This highlights the clear difference between how fans perceive Leonard’s motivations and how he sees his own financial decisions. While he insists money doesn’t drive him, his lucrative extension and the salary-cap controversy make it hard for many fans to accept that statement.