It's not a huge surprise that Kawhi Leonard is going to the Clippers, as they were one of the three teams competing for his services.
What is a huge surprise is Paul George is going with him.
Last night, Leonard signed a four year-$142 million deal with the Clips. Then the Clippers traded Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, a total of five 1st round picks, only one of which is unprotected, and four pick swaps for George.
In the end, Kawhi Leonard didn't want to construct a Super Team with the Lakers. He wanted a co-star across the Staples corridor with the Clippers, and made it clear to Steve Ballmer and Lawrence Frank: Get PG, and I'm coming.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2019
Knowing Leonard wanted to play with George, OKC GM Sam Presti created a bidding war between Toronto and the Clippers. Word is he offered George and Russell Westbrook to the Raptors for a package centered around Pascal Siakam.
Whoa. Per @wojespn, Presti also offered a package of Paul George AND Russell Westbrook to the #Raptors last night with Pascal Siakam as the centerpiece, but Ujiri wouldn't do it.https://t.co/MdossdZl5K
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) July 6, 2019
What do you think about what just went down?
Rival NBA teams have been aware of the discontent of OKC's two stars: Paul George -- and Russell Westbrook, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Leonard pushed the Clippers in recent days to deliver him a second star, and they did.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 6, 2019
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