thelesterlee
One of the weirder and more unexpected collateral damages of the Russell Westbrook trade to the Los Angeles Lakers is this new ESPN report that details how close Westbrook was to teaming up with Kawhi Leonard in LA.
But Kawhi was having none of that bullshit.
Westbrook had become a father of three the previous November, and while he’d made a home and carved a Hall of Fame legacy in Oklahoma City, the chance to live and play in Los Angeles, where grandparents and his large extended family and friends could visit every day, held deep appeal.
Teaming up with Leonard would be the fastest way there, so he placed the call, according to multiple sources. But Leonard didn’t just take the call as one native son of Los Angeles to another, ponder it and file it away.
He used it.
According to multiple sources, Leonard then called Westbrook’s teammate in Oklahoma City, Paul George, and told him he’d rather team up with him on a homecoming.
George had always longed to play in front of his family as well but had formed a close bond with Westbrook in their two seasons together in Oklahoma City and was content to stay.
Leonard’s call upended all of that, though.
This move by Kawhi would seem surprising until you remember that he is an artificial intelligence created in a lab with the sole purpose of winning NBA championships. This robot simply did the calculations and the algorithm determined that he had a better chance to win with the guy who finished 3rd in MVP voting prior to that offseason.
Let’s look at the last two seasons for Kawhi and Russ. As much as it was hilarious to mock the Clippers for blowing a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets, the Rockets were a victim of a gentleman sweep at the hands of the Lakers. Both teams lost in the second round in very embarrassing ways.
This last season, Clippers made it to the Western Conference Finals with Kawhi’s knee torn to shreds and the Wizards had to win the play-in tournament just to get smashed by the Sixers in the first round.
Kawhi Leonard absolutely made the right choice in teaming up with Paul George over Russell Westbrook but what an asshole move to receive a call from Westbrook where he is excited about the possibility of playing alongside him only to hang up the phone and immediately call Russ’s teammate and snitch about Russ wanting to leave as a way to convince Paul to join him instead of Russ.
I need to hear how phony Kawhi was on that phone call with Westbrook. Just fake laughing at his jokes as he scrolls through his contacts looking for Paul George.
It appears as though LeBron and Anthony Davis actually want Westbrook in LA so that’s good for him or whatever. Clippers in 4.
