The Los Angeles Clippers had to move heaven and earth just to land superstar Kawhi Leonard prior to last season. The arrival of the two-time NBA Finals MVP — as well as the addition of swingman Paul George — almost automatically put the Clippers's chances of bringing home the crown at an all-time high. So it shouldn't be surprising that Leonard had sort of a preferential treatment upon landing in LA.
But apparently, some of his teammates weren't buying in on the superstar treatment Leonard was enjoying.
According to a report from Jovan Buha and Joe Vardon of The Athletic, “Players like Patrick Beverley, Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams—Clippers bedrocks before the arrival of Leonard and George—bristled when Leonard was permitted to take games off to manage his body and to live in San Diego, which often led to him being late for team flights, league sources said. The team also allowed Leonard to dictate to Doc Rivers when he could be pulled from games, among other things. Tyronn Lue was on Rivers' bench for all of this, but the Clippers were Rivers' show.”
The report comes after it was announced that Tyronn Lue and the Clippers management were said to be finalizing a deal. Lue was of course riding shotgun amid all this backroom drama as he was hired as Doc Rivers' assistant coach for the Clippers last season.
Fresh from winning his second NBA title with the Toronto Raptors, Leonard was warmly welcomed by the city of LA and, albeit rocky at times, he proved that he was worthy of all the love he was getting as he was a monumental part of the Clippers' run this season. Unfortunately, it seems as the hospitality that the two-time champion was getting was merely superficial as tension seemed to be building within the locker room all season long. And with their season ending the way it did, issues like this were bound to be unearthed.
Lue definitely has his work cut out for him as he tries to fix this seemingly broken Clipper locker room.
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