How Kawahi Leonard Knocked out the NBA
Finally, there is an official end to our international nightmare that has haunted the nation over the July 4th holiday. The media's reaction to President Trump's July 4th speech? Did Kim Jun Un surrender along with the Iranians? No, we're talking the real news that consumes the masses. Kawahi Leonard is going to Los Angeles! The pro Lakers Pravda NBA media industrial complex can rejoice, that King Lebron James and his sidekick super agent Rich Paul have once again molded the entire league to their will.
The Lakers, with Leonard, James, and Davis, will be the most spectacular super-team of all time. Except, just like sometimes in Hollywood, the drama/comedy didn't follow the script. Despite the bold predictions of seemingly ever so-called sports expert, Kawahi Leonard chose the Clippers over the Lakers,
Adding insult to injury to both the Lakers and the media, he's taking Oklahoma City and LA Native Paul George with him. A real move that rivals anything fans could've imagined from Marvel or Game of Thrones when it was good. Should we feel sorry for ESPN that at the end of last night's 'special editions of The Jump and Get Up, the hosts were begging for Kawahi Leonard to pick his team so they could take time off during the usually long holiday weekend?
ESPN pays its talent to be available at all times, so it was nice to see them working the holiday like most Americans. It was also a guilty pleasure watching every pundit seem helpless to predict where Kawahi would land. We had Chris Broussard, NBA expert, totally get it wrong. "The Clippers are out," he told every host on Fox Sports One and his radio audience. He and most hosts on other networks said it was the Lakers. (Here's a link from 'For the Win' detailing Broussard's Blunder.)
How wrong they were. Not to be outdone by the American media, the Candian Media has shots of Kawahi and his crew landing their airplane complete with a motorcade to negotiate with the Raptors. The so-called experts predicted that Kawahi would resign with the team based on the length of the meeting. Once again, wrong. So what will be the legacy of the Kawahi Leonard swerve to the Clippers?
Despite all their proclamations, the sports media's reporting, in this case, was not based on facts; it's based on speculation. The press should be ashamed of itself for making up predictions, based on their inside knowledge, that had the Lakers first, followed by the Raptors, and the Clippers being out.
The lesson of this massive deal is that no one, not Rich Paul, Lebron James, the Golden State Warriors, knows how to win in the NBA better than Jerry West. You remember Jerry West, don't you? The guy is the logo of the NBA. He was the mastermind behind the Show time Lakers, the Kobe trade, Shaq and Kobe, and oh yes the recently dethroned champions Golden State Warriors.
Steve Balmer is a genius at business, computers, and technology. His best acquisition outside of the Clippers and Leonard is hiring West. Only the brilliance of West along with Balmer's commitment could engineer Paul George leaving Oklahoma City by demanding trade that no one knew about until it was over. Rich Paul and Klutch Sports could learn from Jerry West.
This trade is 'The Art of the Deal' on steroids. The Clippers are now the team to beat in a uber stacked Western Conference. The Lakers, along with Lebron, have to be wondering why the two California native superstars are just not into them. Is it the Lebron Circus? The Magic Sideshow? Now that's a story we'd all like to know more about before the start of the season.