Los Angeles Lakers: 3 keys for Opening Night vs. the Clippers

Opening night between the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers will be spicy!

The WWE could not have crafted a better opening night storyline between the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers. Ratings should go through the roof!

Jerry West, the logo himself, is in the middle of a controversy. The Clippers reportedly circumvented NBA rules to sign Kawhi Leonard. West’s voicemail heard around the world caused the NBA community to erupt.

If the allegations are proven to the true, the last time this happened was when the Minnesota Timberwolves made an under-the-table agreement with Joe Smith in 1998.

Smith signed three consecutive one-year deals at a minimum salary with the understanding that he would sign a max contract once Minnesota acquired his Bird rights. An article in the USA Today stated Minnesota was fined $3.5 million and had to forfeit 5 first-round picks for the violation.

The Clippers gave up three first-round picks plus two pick swaps to Oklahoma City thanks to the Paul George trade. That trade would have never happened had Kawhi signed elsewhere.

Very interesting.

At the end of the day, Kawhi Leonard chose to sign with the Clippers. I do not care what Johnny Wilkes or Steve Ballmer did to get Kawhi. It was Kawhi’s choice to sign there. He chose LA over the Lakers and the Toronto Raptors, even when Drake (with the blessing of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau) offered him all of Canada to stay in Toronto.

It is also your choice to read this article. Welcome to Kevin’s Keys! The first real one for the 2020-21 season. Stick around for the comments section, where fans with high basketball IQ leave insightful comments.