The Los Angeles Clippers landed Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, but the Los Angeles Lakers filled out a roster to overcome them.
The NBA world was absolutely stunned to hear that the Los Angeles Clippers had signed Kawhi Leonard and traded for Paul George. Many had the Los Angeles Lakers as the front-runners to land Kawhi Leonard, but clearly that wasn’t the result.
Adding Leonard and Paul George to the Clippers puts the red, white and blue in the best position in it’s franchise history. A team coached by Doc Rivers and stacked with guys like Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Pat Beverly, Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell and more, is a championship contender if not favorite, immediately.
Besides the Raptors, the Lakers were perhaps the biggest losers from the recent Kawhi and Paul George to the Clippers news. The Lakers put their pursuit of all free agents not named Kawhi Leonard on pause, as they waited for the finals MVP to make his free agency decision. This meant the team would risk missing out on some valuable free agents, which was a risk the Lakers front office was willing to take. Jerry West once again showcased his innate ability to continuously revolutionize basketball organizations by incredibly turning the Clippers into the new favorites to win the 2020 NBA championship.
The Lakers looked poised to win a title this upcoming season before missing out on Kawhi Leonard to their crosstown rivals, the Clippers. Lakers fans either went to sleep Friday or woke up Saturday disheartened. Rob Pelinka, however, has immediately began shaping the roster with some brilliant additions, which I believe puts the Lakers right back on top. Here are the grades for each of the Lakers’ latest additions: