What a crazy night. By now, you’ve probably already heard that the Los Angeles Clippers emerged victorious in the Kawhi Leonard sweepstakes. You’ve also probably heard that the Clippers then shipped a record number of draft picks and players to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Paul George.
So how did it all happen? Was this always part of the plan?
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, there are a couple of interesting details that have since emerged from last night’s fireworks.
For starters, the final haul that the Thunder received in the trade included a whopping four unprotected first-round picks, one protected first-rounder, two pick swaps, Danilo Gallinari, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
What we also now know is that Kawhi didn’t to construct a super team with the Lakers. His number one choice was always the Clippers, but they just needed to get a star on board to play alongside Leonard. This probably explains why Kawhi was taking his time — he wanted to give the Clips time to grab George, and they did.
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And finally, from the sound of it, is seems as though the Raptors were also in the running for Paul George, but they simply couldn’t match the offer made by the Clippers.
What a rollercoaster. It’s pretty amazing how everyone had thought the Kawhi’s decision was down to the Raptors and Lakers. Meanwhile, in reality, his sights were always set on the Clippers. They just needed to get Paul George first.
