Covington, Clippers agree to two-year contract extension
Minutes after the Clippers’ season ended on April 15 with their play-in game loss to the New Orleans, Robert Covington made it sound almost as if he already had his mind made up.
“Of course,” he said. “Of course. It’s been a great transition and of course I would like to return. We’ll just see how the tides roll.”
The tide will carry Covington — a versatile, animal-loving 6-foot-7 wing – back into the Clippers’ fold: The 31-year-old from outside of Chicago has agreed on a two-year, $24 million contract extension, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that was confirmed by multiple league sources.
The Clippers’ projected tax bill increases from $17.8 million to $54.9 million with the signing, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Covington was set to be an unrestricted free agency this summer, but playing for five teams in his eight NBA seasons, he elected to return to a situation where he flourished after arriving in February as part of a trade that brought him and Norman Powell to L.A. from Portland.
In 23 games with the team, Covington averaged 10.4 points on 50% shooting, including connecting on 45% of his 3-point attempts. He had a careerhigh 43 points and a franchise-record 11 3-pointers against the Bucks on April 1. The Clippers were 13-10 in games he played.
Covington finished the season as the only player in the NBA to have at least 90 steals (he had 103) and 90 blocked shots (91, officially) — though he sometimes thought he didn’t get credit for all of his takeaways.
On April 15, Covington said he was intrigued and excited about the idea of playing beside Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul
George in tandem. Leonard missed all of last season recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament and George was limited with a torn elbow ligament.
Covington and George played only five games together — and in 51 minutes of shared court time posted an offensive rating of 133.9 and a defensive rating of 91.1.
“Of course,” Covington had pondered what his floor-spreading, ball-hawking skills might mean in a lineup with the Clippers’ big two. “That’s a lot of versatility, a lot of toughness. That’s a lot of guys that can sit down and guard. They can also make plays. Once them guys come back next year, if I’m here, I’m really looking forward to that.”
In accordance with collective bargaining rules, Covington is eligible to resign with the Clippers — who had his Bird rights — for a maximum of two years before the start of free agency in July. He’s the first player to sign such an extension since the regular season concluded.
Covington also is in the running for the NBA’s Community Assist award — which the Clippers have been actively promoting on their social media channels.
As a graduate of Tennessee State — which makes him the only current NBA player who graduated from a historically Black college, Covington has been supportive of his alma mater and the league’s HBCU program. The winner of the award receives $75,000 to donate to a nonprofit of his choice.
When Lawrence Frank, the team’s president of basketball operations, met with reporters on April 20, he sounded much like Covington did after the seasonending loss — pretty certain of his desire to keep RoCo in the Clippers’ company.
“RoCo was very, very good for us,” Frank said of Covington. “I’m excited to hear that he likes it here. We look forward and we’d like to be able to keep him here.”