Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers
- Free agent forward Leonard, who drove Toronto Raptors to first NBA title, will receive four-year, US$142 million maximum contract
- Clippers acquire forward George in trade with Oklahoma City Thunder
The Los Angeles Clippers pulled off two major acquisitions late on Friday night, as ESPN and The Athletic reported that free agent forward Kawhi Leonard will sign with the team, who also acquired forward Paul George in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that Leonard received a four-year, US$142 million maximum contract.
To acquire George, the Clippers will send guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and forward Danilo Gallinari to Oklahoma City. The Thunder also will receive four unprotected first-round draft picks, one protected first-round pick and two draft-pick swaps, according to the ESPN report.
Leonard, who led the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA championship after he was acquired in a trade from the San Antonio Spurs last July, reportedly selected the Clippers over the Raptors and Los Angeles Lakers.
Leonard, a 28-year-old Southern California native, averaged 26.6 points and 7.3 rebounds over 60 regular-season games with the Raptors in 2018-19. He then improved on that over 24 playoff games averaging 30.5 points with 9.1 rebounds.
In the NBA Finals, Leonard scored 28.5 points per game with 9.8 rebounds as Toronto defeated the Golden State Warriors in six games.