Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are officially members of the Clippers, as the two were introduced to fans and the media on Wednesday at a press conference in Los Angeles.
The two spoke about why they joined the Clippers this summer, with Leonard explaining he wanted the chance to build something special and make history by leading the Clippers to their first Finals and title and George talking about growing up a Clippers fan and how both he and the Thunder agreed their time together had all but run its course. George offered a statement of appreciation to the Thunder organization for his two years there and for facilitating a trade to send him home.
Leonard likewise offered a heartfelt thanks to the Raptors organization, fans, and the entire city of Toronto for his one season there that led to a championship. Kawhi thanked fans for their support, the doctors in Toronto for delivering his now three month old baby boy, and even thanked the Toronto restaurants that gave him free food as part of the “Ka’Wine and Dine” push to keep him to stay, which he joked he took full advantage of.
Kawhi thanks the city of Toronto and their fans after a great season! 🇨🇦✊ pic.twitter.com/xRISYJoFh9
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) July 24, 2019
Kawhi continues to let us see his humorous side more and more over the past two years and so it’s starting to get less jarring when he makes jokes and more the norm for someone who is clearly pretty funny (albeit with a dry sense of humor). While not a huge fan of media obligations, he’s really good at them, especially in situations like this, and his statement to the city of Toronto and Raptors organization seemed genuine and appreciative. Also, while the free food wasn’t enough to keep him there, it did seem to bring him some added happiness during a championship run, and that’s worth something.
