The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Clippers will add Leonard, George
The Los Angeles Clippers made a huge decision.
That meant Kawhi Leonard could finally make his.
The Clippers will be landing Leonard as a free agent after they acquire Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a massive trade for players and draft picks, a person familiar with the negotiations said.
George will be traded for at least four firstround picks, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity early Saturday because none of the moves have been finalized. And Leonard made his decision to sign with the Clippers after the team swung the deal to land George, the person said.
ESPN, which first reported the trade, also said the Thunder were getting Shai Gilgeous Alexander and Danilo Gallinari from the Clippers.
Leonard going to the Clippers means that for the first time, a reigning NBA Finals MVP will be changing teams before the following season. Leonard was also being pursued by the Los Angeles Lakers and the Toronto Raptors, the team he led to last season’s NBA title.
The most the Clippers can offer Leonard is $142 million over four years, which is the deal he is expected to sign. Players can sign with new teams as early as noon Eastern on Saturday.
“New adventure in OKC,” Gallinari tweeted.
Leonard is entering his ninth NBA season, is a threetime AllStar, a twotime champion and one of only three players in league history to win the NBA Finals MVP award with multiple franchises.
Notoriously a man of few words, at least publicly, Leonard is generally considered to be the best twoway player in the NBA — dominant on the offensive end, airtight on the defensive end.
His gamewinning, four bounce of fthe rim jumper to beat the buzzer in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Philadelphia was perhaps the signature moment of this past season’s playoffs.
And he just turned 28 last week — still very much in his prime.
So, too, is George.
The 29yearold — who is owed roughly $105 million for the next three seasons — spent the last two years alongside Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City. George averaged a careerbest 28 points last season even while dealing with shoulder issues that required surgery, and the Thunder couldn’t get out of the first round in either of those seasons.
He was a finalist for both NBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year last season, when he led the league with 2.21 steals per contest.
A California native, going to the Clippers and pairing with Leonard means he’ll have a real chance of being on a title contender.
LAKERS ADD GREEN, COUSINS
The Lakers didn’t wait long before starting to move on from their quest for Leonard. Danny Green announced that he is signing a twoyear deal with the Lakers, meaning he, too, is leaving Toronto.
“Kawhi has made his decision. Seems like the announcement is out,” Green said in a video he posted to his social media accounts. “It’s time for me to make my announcement … I will be teaming up with new teammates in LA, the Los Angeles Lakers.”
Also a person with knowledge of the situation says DeMarcus Cousins has agreed to a oneyear deal with the Lakers, a move that will reunite him with his former New Orleans teammate Anthony Davis.
ESPN first reported the agreement.
Cousins agreed to the deal Saturday. The Lakers are expected to close a deal Saturday that will bring them Davis in exchange for players and draft picks.
Cousins averaged 16.3 points in 30 games with Golden State last season, one where he was dealing with recovery from a torn Achilles. He was also slowed in the playoffs by a quadriceps injury.
MORRIS TO DETROIT
The Detroit Pistons have a Morris twin again.
The Pistons signed Markieff Morris and Tim Frazier to freeagent deals Saturday. Markieff Morris comes to the Pistons after his twin Marcus Morris spent the 201516 and 201617 seasons with Detroit.
Markieff Morris was withWashington and Oklahoma City last season and is joining his fourth NBA club. The welltraveled Frazier is joining his sixth team in six seasons, after playing for New Orleans, Washington, Portland, Milwaukee and Philadelphia.