Clippers Coach Explains Key Point In Kawhi Leonard Recruitment Pitch

The Los Angeles Clippers had by far the best offseason among all the teams in the NBA as they managed to land the most coveted player this summer – Kawhi Leonard. The small forward, who led the Toronto Raptors to their first-ever NBA championship, was courted by a number of teams in the offseason.

Leonard admitted that he was very close to joining the Lakers but the Clippers’ offer to trade for Paul George from Oklahoma City Thunder was key in the forward choosing Doc Rivers’ team. The Clippers coach, who has previously won a championship with Boston Celtics also revealed the conversation he had with Leonard to help convince him to join the team in free agency.

The Lakers were keen to pair Leonard with LeBron James an Anthony Davis but Rivers explained that he simply told the forward about his desire to win, which was what Leonard wanted to hear. The head coach admitted that he used his experience from his time as the Orlando Magic coach when he helped them land Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady.

“All the other stuff that people think matters in the recruitment, I don’t think Kawhi wanted to talk about that, and so I didn’t,” Rivers said, as quoted on the Los Angeles Times. “I talked about winning, and basketball."

“Kawhi is a serious man and I think you felt that with him. I think he felt the seriousness of me and how serious I am about winning and how serious he is about winning and he felt good about that match.”

Leonard confirmed that the draws of playing with George was one of the main reasons for him joining the Clippers while the latter revealed that it was an easy choice to make owing to the team already being competitive without any stars. They made the playoffs last season but lost to the Golden State Warriors in the first round.

“You could just see their connection on the court,” George said of the Clippers’ past season. “Everybody pulling for one another, everybody elevated their games to be part of that camaraderie. That’s what made it such an attractive spot.”