The Los Angeles Clippers won the Kawhi Leonard sweepstakes, and according to head coach Doc Rivers, they did it by being plain, simple and straightforward.
In his interview with Andrew Grief of Los Angeles Times, Rivers said that he went right down to business with Leonard during their free agency recruitment pitch.
“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. “I talked about winning, and basketball.”
For the past decade, the Clippers have tried to build a team that is capable of contending for championships. While they were able to build a consistent playoff team, however, they always fell short of winning the title. Then, when the opportunity came for them to strike a deal with one of the best players in the league, they absolutely did not waste it.
Doc never used the bright lights of Hollywood to convince Kawhi — all he did was tell the reigning Finals MVP that the Clippers will be all about winning and basketball.
“Kawhi is a serious man and I think you felt that with him,” Rivers added. “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.”
He may be the Fun Guy, but he also knew that the Clippers was his best shot at winning a championship without having to settle for any drama off the court.
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