Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will join the Clippers in Los Angeles in a move that means the NBA’s focus shifts to a team that failed to even reach a conference final in its nearly 50-year history.
After accepting a multi-million dollar deal, Leonard will return home to play with the Clippers and the newly declared MVP of the final for the title will join the Californian franchise with fellow forward George, from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Clippers got George via a trade, while Leonard, raised outside Los Angeles, signed as a free agent after leading the Toronto Raptors to their first championship.
The respective deals, reported by the local press, cannot be officially announced until Saturday night, and Leonard’s decision was late compared to other prominent free agents.
80 other players had already agreed to reported contracts worth more than $ 3 million before Leonard chose the Clippers; But the forward had demanded the arrival of another star established as a condition for signing with the young squad currently run by Doc Rivers and pressured George to join the project.
The Thunder received 20-year-old Canadian guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Italian veteran Danilo Gallinari and a package of NBA Draft picks in exchange for George, ESPN reported.
Leonard, who was one of the most desired free agents on the market, negotiated with the Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers before making a decision about where to play next season.
Leonard signed a four-year contract for $ 142 million, the most the Clippers could offer. Under salary cap rules, the Raptors could have offered a five-year, $ 190 million deal, but Leonard finally valued a new adventure alongside George in his native Los Angeles.
The forward had joined Toronto from San Antonio in July 2018 after forcing a transfer from the Spurs, with whom he had one year left on his contract and had already won an NBA title in 2014.
With Leonard, George and the retention of point guard Patrick Beverly all considered excellent defenders, regardless of their great scoring skills, the Clippers should become title contenders in the Western Conference.
The Los Angeles team also later strengthened their inner game with the signing of Croatian post Ivica Zubac, who signed for two years.
– And the Lakers? –
Leonard’s arrival adds a new dimension to a solid team that finished 48-34 last season, losing in the first round of the Playoffs to runner-up Golden State. The franchise, founded in 1970, has never reached a conference final and will now compete under similar conditions against the neighboring Lakers.
The mythical purple and gold franchise was previously reinforced with power forward Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans, it already had star LeBron James, and was among the candidates to also acquire Leonard.
But the 28-year-old forward, who averaged 26.6 points last season (his career best), along with 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, preferred to compete against the Lakers with his citizen rival.
Despite returning from injury the previous season with the Spurs, Leonard raised his level even further in the postseason, averaging 30.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, en route to his second championship title and second MVP in a final series.
George, 29, also a native of the Los Angeles area, averaged 28.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.2 steals per game. His departure also puts Oklahoma City in a rebuilding position, which could push the franchise to trade point guard Russell Westbrook.
The Lakers, meanwhile, hired for a year and 2.3 million the services of center DeMarcus Cousins, runner-up with the Warriors, and extended their commitment to point guard Rajon Rondo, 33, for two more seasons.
Cousins, 28, suffered an Achilles tendon injury; He will be accompanied in the Los Angeles project by point guard Quinn Cook, also from Golden State, who signed for two years and 6 million.
Those in purple and gold also signed guard Danny Green, a former Clipper who played with Leonard in Toronto and San Antonio. Green accepted a two-year contract worth $ 30 million. They also renewed guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, at a rate of two years and 16 million, and reserve post Javale McGee, for two years and 8.2 million. AFP