Despite how many jerseys people see him wear, Drake’s loyalty has always been to the Toronto raptors, but his friendship with Kawhi Leonard during his one and only season in Canada may have blinded him to the point that he actually might have helped him leave town.
During the free agency phase last summer, Kawhi Leonard reportedly had two meetings with Paul George to convince him to come to the Clippers. That recruitment came at Drake’s house in Los Angeles.
George sends Leonard a congratulatory text for winning it all with the Raptors, the texting becomes more frequent, then the texts turns to phone calls and then it evolves into one-on-one conversations.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne put out a profile on Clippers forward Paul George that includes details on how exactly both George and reigning finals MVP Kawhi Leonard ended up on the Clippers.
“There were countless text messages and phone calls and then two in-person meetings at Drake’s house in Hidden Hills, California. (Drake had befriended Leonard during his season in Toronto and let Leonard — who lives in San Diego — stay there when he was in Los Angeles for free-agent meetings.) By July 1, they had decided to put their plan in motion: Leonard told the Clippers that he was interested in playing for them but only if they could improve their roster by adding an All-Star-caliber player like George.”
One of the meetings actually came after the Toronto Raptors made their free agency pitch to Leonard.
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Once this information got out, social media had a field day.
Shelburne later clarified that she believes Drake was unaware that George and Leonard were meeting at his home.
Shelburne also reports that Thunders GM Sam Presti was “stunned” when George approached him with a trade request. That pretty much goes against what he said about it being a “mutual thing” between him and the team, and that his time in OKC “was up.”
