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LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer saw an opportunity to bring in a pair of All-Star-caliber players this summer, spearheading the charge to get Kawhi Leonard and Paul George after a conscientious two-year rebuilding process. The Clippers spent 48 hours negotiating the framework to a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder to get George, and those negotiations went all the way to the wire, lasting until around 10:30 p.m. PT on Friday, July 5.
According to The Athletic, the framework of the trade was George for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first-round picks (two from Miami) and two pick swaps. Then came a storming five-minute finish in which the Clippers needed to get Leonard's approval:
The Clippers, at the goal line, told Thunder general manager Sam Presti that they were in — so long as Leonard was in, too.
Hold on, please.
President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, who handled the communication during the trade negotiations, made the call to Leonard and his uncle and trusted confidant, Dennis Robertson, to confirm that this was indeed what Leonard wanted.
We have a deal ready with the Thunder for Paul George. We can pull the trigger right now. Are you in?
He was in.
Frank got back on the line with Presti and the two shook virtual hands, agreeing to make a deal for an NBA-record amount of picks. The deal secured the Clippers not only one high-caliber forward, but two.
Leonard's prompt was carried out exactly as he had requested it — in silence. No word about these discussions got out to anyone until the decision had been made and the NBA world was hit with a meteor that would change the outlook on the season, keeping the Los Angeles Lakers away from a superteam and carving a stud team of the Clippers' own to compete against their reloaded hallway rivals.
