Kawhi Leonard and Paul George as bannermen for the Los Angeles Clippers propelled the team to championship caliber. The Clippers are now among the favorites to reach the 2020 NBA Finals, and with a bit more of luck, win the title. Partly that's because of a crucial decision made by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In a stunning move, OKC decided to break the team's superstar tandem composed of Paul George and Russell Westbrook. The latter, a former MVP, was shipped to the Houston Rockets in exchange for more younger talents and future opportunities while the former found his way back to LA.
George eventually exiting from Oklahoma after only two seasons has long been the subject of rumors but OKC coach Billy Donovan said he was surprised the All-Star requested for a trade. Donovan had assumed George was happy representing the city.
But the speculations proved accurate and OKC obliged and granted what George had wished for.
"This is only going to be a one-year experiment and then he's going to want to get back to LA. Paul's obviously got a lot of ties and affinity for LA and where he's from. I get that part of it. I get that part for his family. His mom and dad are great people. Yeah, it catches you," Clutch Points reported Donovan as saying.
As for Westbrook, his departure was said to be mostly management decision and precipitated by OKC's playoff loss, courtesy of the Portland Trailblazers. The defeat prompted the OKC bosses to reconsider what's ahead of them, likely saddened by the reality that the Westbrook-George duo can only bring the team through the first round.
According to Yahoo Sports, the big decision was made. The tandem will be disbanded and the two superstars will be placed to the trading block. At the same time, OKC hoped there will fantastic offers to come. And so the good deals came as expected.
The Rockets wanted Westbrook and landed him. The deal made both teams happy with Houston bound to see the benefits immediately and OKC getting its win as investments for the seasons to come.
George, on the other hand, got the deal he wanted. He returned home to LA and joined the team that worked very hard to sign him up. The Clippers were dead-set to lure George that went the extra mile to know in advance what's going with the OKC camp.
According to Clippers coach Doc Rivers, they knew the Westbrook-George tandem was breaking up and OKC will be on rebuilding mode. How Rivers got word of OKC's plan he did not reveal but he admitted his team was unsure George will agree to a deal.
In the end, George became a Clipper and that contributed to Leonard's decision to wear the same jersey instead of the colors by the Los Angeles Lakers. It can be said the Clippers now boast of the Leonard-George tandem because OKC paved the way for its creation.
