Real Men Wear Green
06-30-2024, 08:49 AM
I'm not a Paul George fan but losing him would be the death blow... and even if he comes back I'm sick of the phrase "when healthy."
When Kawhi Leonard was signed in the summer of 2019 it was supposed to be the move that finally made them the kings of LA. And I won't pretend to have foreseen how bad everything would go, just this past season when I really should have known better I picked them to win the West because Leonard finally was playing a 70+ game season. We all should have realized that what looked like a promising sign was in reality one of the worst things they could have done. It may not even be possible to have a full postseason of Kawhi Leonard but if it is you will first have to give him a lot of rest in the regular season.
So of course he is going to the Olympics this summer.
I don't know how many more games he will play with a run in the Olympics but I primarily view this as the opportunity to have a season-ending injury before the season even begins. He absolutely should not go to Paris. The Warriors found a way to keep Wiggins from going to the Olympics, why are the Clippers allowing this? Especially with Leonard being a far bigger concern than Wiggins. Whatever basketball he has left really should go to the Clippers. Especially after the ride he's taken them on.
Going back to the original sin of 2019, Leonard forced the Clippers to trade a young SGA, Danilo Gallinari, and 7 first round picks to the Clippers to get the now free agent George. They basically traded the current Thunder team that was just the top seed in the West for a guy that has missed almost 30 games a year in his five seasons and will now leave if they don't pay him top dollar for a 4+ year contract that would start when he's 34 years old.
Detail I find amusing: they are willing to give George 3 years at 150+ mil but not 4 years at 200+ mil...basically they are willing to **** themselves but only with a small one.
If I was Lawrence Frank I call every team in the NBA and ask what they would give me for Kawhi Leonard. I would rather have Mikal Bridges but I bet Leonard still has greater overall trade value. Maybe you get lucky and Philly gives you Maxey for him straight up. Or maybe a trade partner emerges that's being forced like you were in 2019 and you get something closer to the insane haul you gave away. Either way...
The Clippers are done. If they lose George this team is heading to the lottery.
When Kawhi Leonard was signed in the summer of 2019 it was supposed to be the move that finally made them the kings of LA. And I won't pretend to have foreseen how bad everything would go, just this past season when I really should have known better I picked them to win the West because Leonard finally was playing a 70+ game season. We all should have realized that what looked like a promising sign was in reality one of the worst things they could have done. It may not even be possible to have a full postseason of Kawhi Leonard but if it is you will first have to give him a lot of rest in the regular season.
So of course he is going to the Olympics this summer.
I don't know how many more games he will play with a run in the Olympics but I primarily view this as the opportunity to have a season-ending injury before the season even begins. He absolutely should not go to Paris. The Warriors found a way to keep Wiggins from going to the Olympics, why are the Clippers allowing this? Especially with Leonard being a far bigger concern than Wiggins. Whatever basketball he has left really should go to the Clippers. Especially after the ride he's taken them on.
Going back to the original sin of 2019, Leonard forced the Clippers to trade a young SGA, Danilo Gallinari, and 7 first round picks to the Clippers to get the now free agent George. They basically traded the current Thunder team that was just the top seed in the West for a guy that has missed almost 30 games a year in his five seasons and will now leave if they don't pay him top dollar for a 4+ year contract that would start when he's 34 years old.
Detail I find amusing: they are willing to give George 3 years at 150+ mil but not 4 years at 200+ mil...basically they are willing to **** themselves but only with a small one.
If I was Lawrence Frank I call every team in the NBA and ask what they would give me for Kawhi Leonard. I would rather have Mikal Bridges but I bet Leonard still has greater overall trade value. Maybe you get lucky and Philly gives you Maxey for him straight up. Or maybe a trade partner emerges that's being forced like you were in 2019 and you get something closer to the insane haul you gave away. Either way...
The Clippers are done. If they lose George this team is heading to the lottery.