Kawhi Leonard Free Agency Rumors: Lakers ‘Shocked’ By Thunder Trading Paul George To Clippers

Ron Gutterman
3 Min Read
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA was set on fire when Kawhi Leonard spurned the Los Angeles Lakers and found a way to team up with Paul George on the Los Angeles Clippers.

George ended up on the Clippers due to a massive blockbuster deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

With this deal, George and Leonard will be playing for the Clippers for years to come, something that might’ve been seen as impossible when both players individually requested trades to the Lakers in the past two seasons. This pair of deals also ensured NBA parity for the foreseeable future.

While a majority of the NBA was stunnned, perhaps the most blindsided by all of this was the Lakers. However, it’s not that Leonard chose the Clippers that shocked them, it’s how the Thunder allowed it to happen, according to Arash Markazi of Los Angeles Times:

While it may seem surprising to some the Thunder would allow George and Leonard to pair up, it’s completely understandable why they did it. The Clippers offered the Thunder an unprecedented haul of draft picks, along with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari’s expiring contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:

In total, the Thunder received seven first round draft picks from the Clippers. Reportedly, it was the Clippers’ own 2022, 2024, and 2026 draft picks unprotected, the Miami Heat’s 2021 first round pick unprotected, their 2023 first round pick protected, and pick swaps in both 2023 and 2025. If that ends up being the case, that’s the largest draft haul in league history — a deal that no general manager could turn down.

It’s fair for the Lakers to be shocked as they played the waiting game for a whole week, only to be spurned in perhaps the most gut-wrenching way possible. But the Clippers and Thunder both made deals they simply had to make to move forward. It’s now even being said that the Thunder may look to trade Russell Westbrook.

The Lakers can take solace in the fact that they have LeBron James and Anthony Davis and have made a slew of very good signings since the Leonard news broke. Danny Green, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, JaVale McGee, and Quinn Cook will all be wearing purple and gold for the 2019-20 NBA season.

Ron Gutterman is a Washington State University alum from Anaheim, California, and is currently a Staff Writer for LakersNation.com, RamsNewsWire.com, and RaidersNewsWire.com. He is also the lead editor for AngelsNation.com. With Lakers Nation, Rams News Wire, Raiders News Wire, and Angels Nation, Ron assists in news, game coverage, analysis, and hot takes via his Twitter account, @rongutterman24. Without a doubt, Ron's favorite Laker, and favorite athlete of all time, is Kobe Bryant. Ron began watching basketball when he was 6 years old, in 2005, when Bryant was dragging the likes of Smush Parker and Ronny Turiaf to playoff spots. Ron's all time favorite Lakers moment was Bryant's final game when he dropped 60 points. While the Lakers beating the Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, as Metta World Peace hit the game clinching three, will always be a top option, Bryant's final night takes the cake. Contact: ron@mediumlargela.com