Los Angeles Lakers: Doc Rivers speaks about Kawhi Leonard choosing Clippers

Recently, Doc Rivers implied about what it would have been like if Kawhi Leonard signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.

One of the big storylines for the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason was their pursuit of Kawhi Leonard.

After the Lakers pulled off the trade to acquire Anthony Davis, all of their attention turned to creating a third max slot for Kawhi. With a little work, the Lakers were able to create the cap space necessary to sign Leonard.

As other top free agents went off the board, Leonard took his time when making his decision. The Lakers certainly believed that they were in the running, and it seemed like he was close to choosing them.

However, the Los Angeles Clippers were able to swoop in after a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder to acquire Paul George. By acquiring George, the Clippers were able to provide Leonard with his own team and another All-Star to play alongside him.

Recently, Doc Rivers was on the Rich Eisen Show and implied what it might have been like if the Clippers didn’t add Leonard. Here’s what he had to say with text via Silver Screen and Roll.

"“If (Kawhi) was going to the Lakers or Toronto, we weren’t going to get him. That’s all we thought about. And then when we thought we had a chance to get him and Paul. And add them to Pat (Beverley), and Lou (Williams), and (Montrezl Harrell), and to that group, we clearly knew if we could pull this off, then we’d have a shot. We’d have a shot. And that’s what you want.“But I would say that absolutely came up… I can’t say the name, but if they got him, that would be hard. That would be tough. It would be tough to be in L.A. (laughs) I can tell you that. It really would have been.”"

If the Lakers were able to land Leonard, they might have created one of the best Big 3s that we have ever seen in the NBA. While LeBron is older, both Leonard and Davis are very much in their primes. Without a doubt, the Lakers would have three of the top 10 players in the league if Leonard chose them.

However, who knows what the rest of the roster might have looked like for the Lakers. They would have likely had a few good veterans come play to chase a ring, but it is hard to know for sure.

With Leonard now on the Clippers, the rivalry in Los Angeles has never been better, There is absolutely a scenario where the Lakers play the Clippers in the Western Conference Finals this season, and that would be amazing. However, Rivers is certainly right. If Leonard did sign with the Lakers, the rest of the league, including the Clippers would have been in big trouble,