Losing a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the playoffs may have seemed like the wrost thing ever to happen to the franchise, but it appears there are underlying issues that have been destroying the team from within for quite some time.
The Clippers fired Doc Rivers as their head coach following the team’s disappointing loss to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals and have since hired assistant coach Ty Lue to replace him.
The Athletic’s Jovan Buha wrote about one of the issues the Clippers had surrounding Leonard. Buha says the preferential treatment Leonard received ruffled the feathers of some players.
“In Los Angeles, there is an unquestioned, A-1 superstar in Leonard. His presence both instantly made the Clippers a title contender and also eventually ruffled the feathers of some teammates because of the preferential treatment showed to him from top to bottom.
Players like Beverley, Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams — Clippers bedrocks before the arrival of Leonard and George — bristled when Leonard was permitted to take games off to manage his body and to live in San Diego, which often led to him being late for team flights, league sources said.”
The Clippers had to make numerous concessions in order to convince Leonard to sign with them after he won the NBA title with the Toronto Raptors. They can’t go back on it as they know he holds the power by being able to leave after just two seasons.
