Kawhi Leonard just walked away from the Clippers’ chaos and straight into another massive payday. While Los Angeles deals with the fallout from an NBA investigation, he is back in Toronto with a new two-year, $115 million commitment. But one of the seven-time All-Star’s former teammates has a rather interesting way of describing how it all played out.
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“Yeah man, he cold,” Patrick Beverley said in his Instagram post. “Yeah, K (Kawhi Leonard), you cold. You cold, you said it too. ‘It’s going to be somebody else’s name, Mr. 94, if he calls himself that. Y’all get what you can get because they going to get what they can get.’ You cold. yeah. I’m hurt. I come back to you buckets. Y’all traded everybody away. I come back average 30. Hit gang winners. Get to the playoffs. Got Michael Jordan statistics. Took a 10 to Western Conference finals. Had a little dust up. Oh, y’all got me going.
“Okay, I’ll see what y’all on. Let me get out of the country real quick. Signed a two-year one-fifth. He cold. Hey K, you cold. You cold man. For real man. Real Ninja award. Belongs to you man. For real. You cold. You cold. Love, love, love.”
The NBA fined Los Angeles $30 million and took away five first-round picks from 2029 through 2033. Steve Ballmer was also suspended for one year, while Kawhi Leonard received a $700,000 fine. The Clippers initially rejected the league’s findings before later accepting the penalties. That contrast makes Beverley’s “cold” comment more interesting.
He never directly says his former teammate took advantage of the Clippers. Still, the joke is easy to understand. Kawhi Leonard is moving on to another $115 million deal, while Los Angeles is left to deal with the fallout from a saga that cost the franchise money, draft capital and key executives. Beverley knows that organization well.
His “Mr. 94” reference goes back to his own Clippers identity. Pat Bev became known as “Mr. 94 Feet” because of his full-court defensive pressure. The reference also connects to one of his long-running complaints about the franchise. Beverley has said Ballmer promised to build 94 basketball courts around Los Angeles during his contract negotiations. The former guard later claimed only four were built. Then there is his history with Kawhi Leonard.
Beverley has previously talked about taking less money to remain with Los Angeles before becoming frustrated when Kawhi Leonard was involved in his contract discussions.
“I left the meeting,” Beverley said. “I called Kawhi [Leonard], and then they called me back down, and my agent like, ‘No, they lifted it up to 6 to 8 million.’ And then I’m like, ‘Okay, well, I definitely want to go for sure, ’cause why do you need to call Kawhi for anything when I’ve been here the longest?’ Why are you calling him? Put an extra couple million dollars on, right?”
Beverley was also part of the Clippers team that reached the Western Conference Finals in 2021, the franchise’s first conference finals appearance. He was traded to Memphis that August.
Despite the history, Patrick Beverley clearly respects Kawhi Leonard as a player. His comments have often focused more on the situation surrounding him than on Leonard’s ability on the court. The Clippers went all-in during the Leonard era.
They traded five first-round picks and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Oklahoma City for Paul George after Leonard wanted another star alongside him. Years later, the franchise lost another five first-round picks as part of the NBA’s punishment.
His Beverley is not directly accusing Leonard of anything. He is having fun with the irony of the story’s ending. The Clippers took a huge swing, paid a huge price, and are now dealing with the consequences. Kawhi Leonard, meanwhile, has moved on to the next chapter.