Kawhi Leonard has FINALLY made his decision and it’s the LA CLIPPERS!! Not only Kawhi is going to the Clippers, but PAUL GEORGE IS GOING TO THE CLIPPERS AS WELL IN A TRADE FROM THE OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER…….HOLY COW!!!
Kawhi Leonard has agreed to a 4 year/$142 million deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, no one really expected Kawhi to choose the Lakers and the Raptors over the Clippers. Everyone was pretty set forward on him wanting to join the Lakers with Lebron James and Anthony Davis, but he shocks the world by choosing the Los Angeles Clippers. People were so anxious figuring it out on why Kawhi was taking so long, but it all makes sense as he was trying to convince Oklahoma City Thunder’s Forward Paul George to come to the Clippers. Paul George ended up wanting to join in with Kawhi’s plan and requested a trade to the Thunder.
Who would’ve saw this one coming, this was one of the many shocking NBA free agency decisions that has happened this summer. The Clippers are now one of the top contenders in the NBA as they have made a huge splash this summer. D’Angelo Russell being traded to the Warriors was a very shocking trade, but the Clippers responded right back by getting both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
In the Paul George trade the Clippers had to give up a lot by trading away Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, four unprotected first round picks, and a protected first round pick. That is a lot to give up for him, but if you think about it, Paul George is under contract for the next four years, him and Kawhi could be together for the next four years in LA, which could be very scary in the future for NBA Teams.
It’s crazy to think that last year at this time, Paul George announced that he was going to re-sign with the Thunder to compete for an NBA Championship with Russell Westbrook, now that plan is now out of the water for the Thunder. So now that Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are joining the Clippers, what happens to the Thunder, Lakers, and Raptors on this decision?
Where do the Thunder go from here?
Russell Westbrook has played with guys like Serge, Ibaka, Kevin Durant, Victor Oladipo, Carmelo Anthony, Paul George, and they have come and gone after very short stints. Could we soon see the Thunder moving on from Westbrook? or Could this be a sign of building a new team around Westbrook. I think that this Paul George trade could be a sign of a rebuild for the Thunder, it doesn’t look like Russell Westbrook is going to be able to bring an NBA Championship to the Thunder as no matter who they brought in to help with Westbrook has not had the best success. The Thunder needs to trade Russell Westbrook to a different team, and bring in some new players to start to rebuild for this Thunder team. Ever since losing to the Warriors in the 2016 NBA Western Conference Finals after being up 3-1 and Kevin Durant going to join the Warriors., The Thunder has not made it past the first round. It is time for the Thunder to get rid of Russell Westbrook and bring in some new players to start a rebuild in OKC.
Where do the Lakers go from here?
Well after they were pretty confident to get Kawhi Leonard and waiting to wait his decision, they missed out other potential role players to help bring in their team. Now the Lakers are going to have sign a lot of players to minimum contracts. The Lakers since the Kawhi Leonard signing with the Clippers, has brought in Demarcus Cousins, Danny Green, Quinn Cook, and has re-signed players JaVale McGee, Rajon Rondo, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The Lakers are going to be signing a lot of players to very low contracts, but they will still be a playoff team next year. People are saying that they are going to be title contenders, but I disagree with that. Two players are not going to win you an NBA Championship, it’s having a deep team to help win the title. I mean look at the Raptors vs the Warriors in the Finals, the Raptors had depth from their starting lineup to their bench. The Warriors when they didn’t have Durant, had no one else to look to for scoring except Curry and Thompson. The Lakers still have a lot of work to do, but they can be a really good team if they bring in some more big pieces.
Where do the Raptors go from here?
Losing your best player in Kawhi Leonard after he brought the first title to Toronto hurts for a franchise. The Raptors will be just ok without him, but will the Raptors be a title contender again? Let’s just say it is going to be a lot more difficult than what it was last year. They will bring back Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol, Pascal Siakam, and Serge Ibaka for their team next year. But I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if a trade happens to bring in a big player. Masai Ujiri is one of the best presidents in basketball, and he will make deals to help bring in a championship team. I mean last year he brought in Marc Gasol and Jeremy Lin at the trade deadline to help contribute to an NBA Championship team. He will have something up his sleeve, but for right now the Raptors are going to be a playoff team and will look to try and be a top team for the NBA Championship.
Woj said that before this Paul George trade, the Thunder offered Paul George and Russell Westbrook to the Raptors, but the Raptors were unwillingly to give up Pascal Siakam. For one thing I think that it is crazy that the Raptors said no to this deal. Because you are getting two really talented All-Stars in Russell Westbrook and Paul George, but looking at it closely the Raptors couldn’t really afford it. The Raptors would’ve had to trade either a big portion of their roster if they also wanted to bring back Kawhi, or make the trade and wouldn’t be able to bring back Kawhi. This would’ve been a no brainer for me, but President Uijiri has other plans for this team.
So without a doubt this trade shakes up the NBA once again. So many new teams are landing star players and it looks like the NBA Championship is very wide open is. I’m not going to lie, the Clippers deals was one of my favorites of this NBA off season. The Clippers weren’t looking like they were going to get anyone, but they ended up getting not one, but TWO stars. It makes it even better knowing that the Lakers lost out on Kawhi Leonard by him going to the other rival team that plays in the same arena. Kawhi apparently wasn’t liking the whole idea of a super team with the Lakers, and it gives me a lot of respect to Kawhi not choosing to team up with Lebron and Anthony Davis. I think it just makes the league a lot more fun to watch now, because now it just won’t be constantly seeing the Warriors in the NBA Finals.
To close this out, think about this Paul George and Kawhi Leonard both wanted to go to LA to play for the Lakers when they wanted out of Indiana and San Antonio. The Lakers decided not to trade for them figuring that the Lakers would get them in free agency. But they both struck out on getting George and Kawhi, and now they are teaming up in LA, but the city rivals the Clippers. That is why I think that they went all in for Anthony Davis to make sure he would definitely be playing for the Lakers before he changes his mind in a year. The Lakers will still be a good team, but I don’t see them as title contenders.
What could’ve been for the Lakers………………
Also, I’m really glad that this deal happened because with Kawhi leaving the Raptors, it makes the Celtics with a chance to compete in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks and Sixers will still be the top teams in the East, but I think that Boston could compete with them.
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are joining the Clippers, The Celtics have a better shot in the East. This season will be fun to watch!
Go Celtics!
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