The Clippers, Kawhi Leonard and the most damaging swing-and-a-miss in NBA history

“This is a historic moment for our organization and our fans,” Lawrence Frank said in a statement on July 10, 2019. And oh, man, does “historic” not even begin to cover it.

Frank, the president of basketball operations of the Los Angeles Clippers, delivered that cherry quote up near the top of the press release officially announcing the signing of marquee free-agent Kawhi Leonard — a two-time NBA champion and NBA Finals MVP, a three-time All-Star and All-NBA selection, a five-time All-Defensive teamer and former Defensive Player of the Year — to begin a bright, bold new era for the long moribund franchise.

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(The second sentence of that statement, one that appears in virtually every team announcement of a contract signing, takes on a particularly rich tone today: “Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.” I can’t imagine why!)

A half-hour after they announced the Kawhi signing, the Clippers published a second statement trumpeting a trade for Paul George — a six-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA selection and five-time All-Defensive teamer, fresh off a third-place finish in MVP voting — to team with Leonard, a pair of hometown heroes joining forces to lead the Clips into that bright, bold future.

Frank’s money quote from the PG press release read, in part: “When you have the opportunity to acquire a contributor of his caliber, you do what it takes to bring him home. […] Following the lead of Steve Ballmer, we have plotted an aggressive course to build a championship contender.”

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, left, looks on at his new players Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, right, during a press conference at the Green Meadows Recreation Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 24, 2019. (Photo by Scott Varley/MediaNews Group/Daily Breeze via Getty Images)

(MediaNews Group/Torrance Daily Breeze via Getty Images via Getty Images)

On Wednesday, we learned just how aggressive a course the Clippers really charted, just what “you do what it takes to bring him home” really meant — and, with it, just how heavy a sanction NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was willing to levy on Ballmer, the…

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Author : Dan Devine

Publish date : 2026-09-03 01:41:00

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