Leonard, George land with Clippers
It was true during the NBA playoffs and again in a stunning free-agent twist that played out early Saturday morning: Kawhi Leonard does things his own way — and at his own pace.
After a week of deliberations that generated much curiosity and impatience around the league, Leonard decided to leave the Toronto Raptors — not even a month after leading them to the NBA championship — to commit the next four years of his career to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Leonard did so only after the Clippers swung an equally stunning trade to acquire Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder, ensuring that Leonard would be joined by another elite player on his new team.
Leonard was pursued aggressively by the Clippers, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Raptors. Toronto could offer a five-year deal worth $190 million, while the Lakers pitched the opportunity to form the league’s starriest trio alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
By persuading Leonard to accept their four-year, $142 million offer, Clippers officials upstaged their competition after being dismissed by many league observers over the past week.
When the Fourth of July holiday passed without a decision from Leonard, numerous league observers openly wondered what was taking so long. It turns out that Leonard was using the extra time to recruit George
to join him with the Clippers, who have labored in the Lakers’ shadow in Los Angeles for nearly four decades.
Leonard successfully persuaded George to request a trade away from point guard Russell Westbrook and the Thunder, according to two people close to the negotiations who were not authorized to discuss them publicly. The Clippers then presented Oklahoma City with a substantial trade offer that the Thunder did not refuse.
The trade calls for the Clippers to send Oklahoma City three unprotected firstround picks (in 2022, 2024 and 2026) and two first-round draft choices that will be conveyed to the Thunder by the Miami Heat (unprotected in 2021 and protected from 1 to 14 in 2023), according to one person with knowledge of the trade terms. The Thunder also will have the right to swap first-round picks with the Clippers in 2023 and 2025, according to the person.
Oklahoma City will likewise acquire Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a promising point guard, and Danilo Gallinari, a veteran forward, in the trade, according to the person.
“New adventure in OKC,” Gallinari tweeted Saturday.
As The New York Times first reported, Leonard made it clear to the Clippers he would not sign with them unless he would be joined by a proven All-Star. The cost was high, but the Clippers found a way to unite the Southern California natives. Leonard is from the Riverside area, east of Los Angeles, and played at San Diego State; George grew up in Palmdale, north of Los Angeles, in the Antelope Valley.
Leonard’s choice was a stinging outcome for at least three other franchises, starting with the Raptors. Never before has an NBA Finals MVP chosen to immediately leave the newly crowned champions.
His lone season in Toronto was the best of his career, answering every question about his health after a leg issue limited him to only nine games with San Antonio in 2017-18. Leonard averaged a career-high 26.6 points in the regular season — and was even better in the playoffs, averaging 30.5 points for the Raptors during their run to the title.
“Last year, a lot of people were doubting me,” Leonard said after the NBA Finals. “They thought I was either faking an injury or didn’t want to play for a team. That was disappointing to me that that was out in the media, because I love the game of basketball.”
The Raptors took a major chance in acquiring Leonard last summer, since they weren’t on his original list of preferred teams when he told the Spurs that he wanted to be moved elsewhere after spending his first seven seasons with them and helping them win the 2014 NBA title. DeMar DeRozan was the biggest piece that Toronto gave up in that deal, with Raptors President Masai Ujiri making the biggest move of his career.
It delivered a title. But that wasn’t enough to make Leonard stay in Canada for the long haul.
“He’s the best two-way player in the NBA,” Ujiri said during the NBA Finals.
Leonard was dominant in the postseason, posting 14 games of 30 or more points. Only Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon and Kobe Bryant had postseasons with more 30-point games — Jordan had 16 of them in 1992, Olajuwon had 16 in 1995, and Bryant had 15 in 2009.
The Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors in six games during the NBA Finals.