LeBron James ruled by using lights, camera, action. Kawhi Leonard is doing his business in the dark.
To be real with you, Kawhi Leonard picking the Clippers over the Lakers was not a shock. Sure Jalen Rose said he was 99% sure that he would go back to the Raptors, but others were dead wrong as well.
The timing of the deal was not a shock to me either. You see, Jerry West and his executives seem to do their best business at night. I’ll never forget how the Clippers traded Tobias Harris to Philadelphia right after he hit a game winner to sink the Charlotte Hornets hours prior.
The shock was how Kawhi Leonard recruited Paul George and somehow orchestrated a trade to join him in Los Angeles. No one saw that coming.
Now what everyone is trying to figure out is the timeline of when and more importantly how all of this happened. Kawhi Leonard basically had the NBA media, the Lakers and the Raptors waiting for five days all while the chess pieces were being moved.
I mean you know Kawhi Leonard is a bad man when you make Stephen A. Smith come in off of vacation to break down what happened.
To Hell with the day off. It was necessary to speak today. pic.twitter.com/V7QcXvCFbX
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) July 8, 2019
Now Kawhi Leonard is quietly making his power moves while the rest of the NBA was wondering how close he was to selecting the Lakers or the Raptors.
During the press conference, while being introduced with Paul George, Kawhi rang the bell on the hottest rivalry in the NBA next season.
Kawhi says the Clippers haven't been in the Lakers' shadow these past couple years: "The Clippers have been better." pic.twitter.com/J0EO6wn7Mh
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 24, 2019
Boy, will this season be exciting. Now that reports are being leaked that the Lakers are upset and feel played by Leonard and his camp, I believe there will be a lot of NBA fans on the East Coast calling in sick to watch the Clippers and Lakers in the Staples Center.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst breaks down the feelings on the Hoop Collective podcast.
"“I’ve heard complaints from the Lakers that they got played. I’ve heard complaints from the Raptors that Kawhi came in and asked for the sun, the moon, the stars then left them at the altar.”"
Then there were reports that Kawhi’s camp asked for a delay in finalizing the AD trade.
Much will be made of the Lakers and Raptors end of this. But as of about 2 hours before Leonard chose the Clippers Friday night, his camp was asking the Lakers to delay the AD trade until Sat/Sun, sources tell ESPN. No reason given. Just a condition.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 6, 2019
What makes this even better is that Kawhi Leonard made it clear that the Lakers and Raptors did not have to wait for him. It’s amazing that I actually wrote a piece asking for him to just say something last year. I like this Kawhi.
I know one guy that may feel played and that’s Anthony Davis. Remember he gave back that $4 million dollar trade kicker to open up cap space to make a run at Leonard. Speaking of Anthony Davis, he along with Paul George will be the co-stars for their respective teams.
Let’s start with Anthony Davis and what part he plays in this blockbuster action drama.