LA Clippers advisor Jerry West said it's unheard of to get players the caliber of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on the same team, a feat his team achieved this summer as they flipped the tables on their hallway rival Los Angeles Lakers:
Jerry West on the #Clippers acquiring Kawhi Leonard and Paul George – “To get two players of this caliber on one team is unheard of. It’s unheard of. They’re true to what the organization stands for. Hard working and skilled.”
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) July 26, 2019
West was the architect who brought home Shaquille O'Neal to play alongside Kobe Bryant during his days with the Los Angeles Lakers, so to say these recent acquisitions were unheard of carries some real weight. Not only did West have his fingerprints on assembling one of the best NBA duos of all time, but he was also a sound voice in the Golden State Warriors' front office while the team drafted Klay Thompson in 2011 and Draymond Green in 2012, while also playing the part of a key closer in Golden State’s signing of Kevin Durant in 2016.
The 81-year-old not only had an illustrious playing career, but he has been one of the very few former stars who has matched, if not surpassed, his own greatness during his time as an executive.
West wasn't shy about pointing out the new duo's two-headed attack, as well as their potential to put two defensive hawks on the floor, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic:
“When you put Paul and Kawhi out there late in games, I don’t know who’s going to guard those two guys,” West said. “You might guard one of them, but you’re not gonna guard them both.”
The Clippers will be tough to stop on offense and scary to go against with George and Leonard defending the wings. This is a proposition West knows will terrorize the rest of the Western Conference.
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