Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard was just like any other fan Friday night, hugely surprised by what transpired with the Los Angeles Clippers, who signed Kawhi Leonard and traded for Paul George in a span of minutes.

Before Kawhi Leonard made his announcement to join the Clippers, which included bringing Paul George with him, the consensus around the league was that he'd join their co-tenants in Staples Center, the Los Angeles Lakers. Some media personnel even went as far as saying Kawhi was 90-95 percent likely to wear the Purple and Gold.

Meanwhile, other people banked on the idea that Kawhi Leonard would stay with the Toronto Raptors because he traveled there on a private jet and the Canadian media covered his every move.

Fans looked at both scenarios as a major sign that Kawhi would sign with one of those teams.

Friday night, Leonard spurned both the Lakers and the Raptors. He had secretly met with Paul George to ask him to request a trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder and basically told the Clippers to get PG from OKC before he committed.

Now, there's a new contender in the Western Conference.

It would've been a perfect opportunity for Damian Lillard and the Blazers to take over next season, especially since the Golden State Warriors have lost a lot of their core players in free agency. The Blazers are coming off a season in which they reached the conference finals and would've loved to carry their momentum into next year.

But now, aside from having to go against LeBron James and Anthony Davis of the Lakers, Dame and the Blazers will also have to deal with Kawhi and PG with the Clippers.

Lillard will be ready for the challenge.