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The LA Clippers shocked many when they acquired stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George during the 2019 NBA offseason. According to George, it was the Clippers’ impressive fight against the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA playoffs that sold them on LA.
During a recent episode of “Podcast P with Paul George,” George reminisced with his former Clippers teammate Lou Williams. George said that he and Leonard closely monitored the Clippers’ 2019 first-round playoff series against Golden State before deciding to team up in LA.
The Warriors were heavily favored, as their roster featured a Big 4 of Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. However, the Clippers, led by Williams, still stole two games before losing the series 4-2.
Despite being eliminated in the first round, George said that he and Leonard saw massive potential in LA’s balanced roster full of high-quality role players. According to the star wing, all that the team was missing was star power:
“We were watching y’all in that playoff run against Golden State, and that was ultimately what made it so enticing,” George said.
“Watching y’all in that series, we were like, ‘Man, they’re booming, they’re rocking, all they need is a little star power to get over that hump.’ So that’s what Kawhi and I were watching. We were in tune with that like, ‘Yo, [have] you seen them? They’re giving them a run.’”
George highlighted the Clippers’ depth, coaching and all-around confidence as key aspects that made the franchise so appealing:
“Y’all had a squad, y’all had a bench, y’all had a rotation, coaching, y’all had confidence, swag. We [were] like, ‘Man, they just need a little push to get over the hump, like, we can do it here,’” George said.
(54:54 mark below)
After agreeing to team up in LA, Leonard ultimately left the then-reigning champion Toronto Raptors and signed with the Clippers as a free agent. Meanwhile, George was traded to LA from the OKC Thunder in a blockbuster trade.
LA has yet to make an NBA Finals appearance during George and Leonard’s tenure with the team, as both stars have struggled with injuries. However, George led the Clippers to their first-ever Western Conference finals appearance in 2021.
Also Read: "Knew he still had it": Paul George maintained faith in Russell Westbrook despite 'washed' narrative
Who were key players on Clippers’ 2018-19 roster that won Paul George over?
During the LA Clippers’ 2019 playoff series against Golden State, Lou Williams led the team in scoring at 21.7 points per game. However, outside of Williams, the Clippers had four other players average between 11.0 and 20.0 ppg.
These players include Danilo Gallinari (19.8 ppg), Montrezl Harrell (18.3 ppg), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (13.7 ppg) and JaMychal Green (11.0 ppg).
However, the Clippers had to give up Gallinari and Gilgeous-Alexander, who has since developed into a superstar, to acquire Paul George from OKC. So their depth was not quite the same upon landing George and Leonard.
