Los Angeles, Ca
Clippers sign 2-time NBA Finals MVP Leonard to a 3-year extension worth $152.3 million per AP source
LOS ANGELES (AP) — With the Los Angeles Clippers compiling one of their best rosters ever, Kawhi Leonard wanted to make sure the focus was on the quest for a first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history rather than his future.
So Leonard signed a three-year contract extension worth $152.3 million on Wednesday.
A person familiar with the agreement confirmed the value of the deal to The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because financial terms were not released.
“It was time to do it. I’m happy,” Leonard said after he scored 29 points in the Clippers’ 126-120 victory over the Toronto Raptors. “I’m just focused on the right now. I’m in a moment in this season of trying to get us to a place we haven’t been before.”
The two-time NBA Finals MVP is averaging 24.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in his 12th NBA season. The 32-year-old forward has been in good health, playing in 33 of 37 games so far. He recently returned after missing four games with a hip injury.
Lawrence Frank, the team’s president of basketball operations, said there was never a doubt in his mind that an extension would be reached.
“It just made sense from both sides. We both wanted the same thing,” Frank said. “We wanted Kawhi to be a Clipper for a long time and Kawhi wants to be a Clipper for a long time.”
Leonard signed with the Clippers during the 2019 offseason after leading the Raptors to an NBA title. He was in the third year of a four-year deal he signed in 2021 that calls for him to earn a base salary of $45,640,084 this season. He had a player option for next season at $48,787,676.
“When you can get a top-tier player to sign back, it says a lot about your organization and all the work put in to to get to this position. It is a great day for the organization,” coach Tyronn Lue said.
Leonard is a five-time All-Star and two-time Defensive Player of the Year. He also won an NBA title with San Antonio in 2014.
The Clippers are fourth in the West with a 24-13 record. Their 16-3 record since Dec. 1 is the best in the league as the core unit of Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook has gelled with James Harden, who was acquired in a Nov. 1 trade with Philadelphia.
George, who arrived with Leonard in 2019, and Harden are also eligible for extensions. Frank said talks with George are still ongoing, but discussions with Harden can not begin until after the NBA Finals.
Lue said the addition of Harden has meant Leonard and George have run fewer pick-and-roll plays, which has helped decrease the amount of wear and tear on their bodies.
“I think James also has made it easier for Kawhi and Paul to have more catch-and-shoot 3-pointers and to play off closeouts. That’s been really good for us,” Lue said.
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AP Sports Writer Beth Harris in Los Angeles contributed to this story.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Los Angeles, Ca
Hospital needs help identifying man found unconscious in downtown Los Angeles
A hospital needs help identifying a male patient who was found injured and unconscious in downtown Los Angeles.
The man is believed to be in his 30s, according to the Los Angeles General Medical Center.
He was found injured on the ground on Omar Street and has been hospitalized since June 22.
He stands 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 176 pounds. He has brown eyes, dark brown hair and tattoos across his upper body.
He did not have any personal belongings to help staff identify him or contact loved ones. Workers did not disclose the nature of his injuries.
Anyone who recognizes the man is asked to call clinical social worker Cesar Robles at 323-409-6885.
The public can also call the L.A. General Medical Center’s Department of Social Work at 323-409-5253 or, after hours from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., call 323-409-6883. On weekends, call 323-409-5254.
Los Angeles, Ca
Clue may identify SUV in Long Beach hit-and-run that left woman injured
Police are asking the public for help Wednesday in identifying a hit-and-run driver who left a woman badly injured in Long Beach late last month. The May 24 crash occurred around 11 p.m. as the victim was crossing East 2nd Street, according to the Long Beach Police Department. Video provided by police showed a dark-colored […]
Los Angeles, Ca
‘What’s going on with our society?’ Elderly L.A. street vendor violently beaten
WARNING: Video footage contains graphic violence
A 62-year-old street vendor is recovering after a brutally violent attack by another woman in broad daylight as bystanders in downtown Los Angeles looked on.
The attack happened around 4 p.m. on June 15 in the 700 block of Figueroa Street, where Arabelia Martinez has sold hot dogs for years to support herself and her family.
Video of the incident, which has since circulated widely online, appears to show a woman confronting Martinez at her stand before spraying sauce across the vendor’s cart. Martinez responds by throwing what appears to be Tajín seasoning in the woman’s direction, and the confrontation quickly escalates.
The difficult-to-watch footage shows Martinez being shoved to the ground and struck multiple times as people look on. Some can be seen attempting to intervene, but the assault continues for roughly a minute before coming to an end.
“I was speechless,” Martinez’s son, Constantino Garcia, said after watching the video. “I couldn’t even see the whole thing.”
According to Garcia, the suspect approached his mother before the attack and attempted to intimidate her into giving her money.
“The lady came up to my mom trying to intimidate her and extort her for money, telling her she needed a permit to sell, which my mom does have,” Garcia told KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo.
When Martinez refused, Garcia claims the woman became verbally abusive.
“After she didn’t get her way and tried to extort my mom, she said, ‘Go back to Mexico,’ and made some racist remarks,” he said. “She said some disgusting things to my mom.”
Garcia said his mother continues to suffer lingering effects from the attack.
“She keeps complaining about her head,” he said. “We need to go see a head specialist because her head doesn’t stop hurting. As you could see in the video, she got slammed to the ground.”
The video has also sparked outrage over the response from some witnesses who were nearby during the assault.
“What’s going on with our society?” Garcia said. “Are we getting desensitized to an elderly woman being beaten in broad daylight and being surrounded by people doing the bare minimum to help her? That was horrible for me to watch.”
Witness Sebastian Gutierrez said he arrived moments after the confrontation and saw Garcia’s attacker causing additional chaos in the area.
“The lady began to flip over the tables of vendors,” Gutierrez said, describing the woman as possibly unstable. “It definitely seemed like there were mental health issues or drugs involved, like we see with a lot of things here in downtown L.A.,” he said.
The Los Angeles Police Department has launched a battery investigation into the incident KTLA confirmed, though no suspect information or news of a potential arrest has been released.
Meanwhile, Martinez’s family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with her recovery and raise awareness about the dangers street vendors face daily.
“I hope that my mom gets justice for what happened to her,” Garcia said. He added that he’s been encouraged by the public response to the video.
“I’m grateful people are sympathizing with my mom,” he said. “People are giving it the attention it deserves.”
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