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Kawhi Leonard has finally made his free agency decision. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Leonard will sign with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Free agent forward Kawhi Leonard has informed runners-up teams of his plans: He's signing with the Clippers, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2019
But that’s not the only league-altering move the Clippers are making. Woj went on to report that the Clippers have traded a massive package of five first round draft picks, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Paul George.
Oklahoma City is trading All-Star Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers for a record-setting collection of draft choices, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2019
The Clippers are sending the Thunder four unprotected first-round picks, one protected first-round pick and two pick swaps, league sources tell ESPN. Those picks go to OKC with Gallinari and SGA.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2019
This is absolutely huge. Kawhi joining a team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis in Laker Land never really seemed like a very Kawhi thing to do and in the end, he formed his own powerhouse duo in Los Angeles. What an orchestration by Kawhi and Uncle Dennis. With this move, the Clippers instantly became one of the favorites for the NBA championship, if not the favorite.
So what does this mean for the Sixers? It means their path to the NBA Finals just became a little more clear. Without Kawhi Leonard in Toronto, the Eastern Conference is much weaker. The Sixers and the Milwaukee Bucks are the two favorites to compete for the right to represent the East in the Finals following the Kawhi development.