One of the biggest news to hit the offseason of the NBA was Kawhi Leonard's decision to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers, and he managed to convince Paul George to join him. While Leonard did use his talents and superstar status as leverage to draw a profitable deal, he failed to land what could have been his strongest and most creative teammate: Kyrie Irving.
According to Zach Low of ESPN, Leonard tried to recruit Irving during the free agency. He tried to persuade the point guard to join him and George and sign with the Clippers. Unbeknownst to Leonard, Irving has already made his move and instead signed with the Brooklyn Nets and join Kevin Durant, essentially creating a power duo.
According to some NBA insiders, Irving and Durant's plan was first set in motion way back in February. This means that whether Durant wins the championship with the Warriors, he is already set to part with the team. Injury sustained an injury in the middle of the season, and it had kept him on the bench for the most part of the NBA finals. He did try to pull a miraculous return during Game 5, but he eventually aggravated that injury, and now he is set to sit the entire next season.
Rumors claiming that Leonard reaching out to Durant to form a super team have been circulating around the league for quite a long time now. However, it would appear that Leonard's talents and status as a viable championship piece is not enough to convince both Durant and Irving to join forces with him.
The whole league has been rocked by a number of high profile signing and trades throughout the offseason. Kickstarting this was the Anthony Davis trade which sent him to the Los Angeles Lakers to form a super team with LeBron James. The Lakers, and probably LeBron doing the convincing, managed to lure DeMarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo, Danny Green, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to sign with the organization.
This free agency signings and trade has been one of the most prolific and probably most impactful in recent years. So many superstars have shifted to different teams, and even the power struggle in the two conferences was severely affected. Based on the current status of the league, there is no clear leader in either conference. Nevertheless, it is still early to call this as there is still a lot of time before the season starts, and many more can happen.
