Kawhi Leonard Reportedly Wasn’t Interested In Forming Superteam With The Lakers, Tried To Recruit Kevin Durant Before Calling Paul George To Join Him To Play In L.A.

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Last night the LA Clippers pulled off a monster trade for Paul George that enabled the team to also sign Kawhi Leonard.

Apparently Kawhi was never interested in forming a super team with the Lakers but instead was looking to pair up with another star join him play for the Clippers.

Before calling Paul George, Kawhi reportedly attempted to recruit Kevin Durant to the Clippers.

Via ESPN

Kevin Durant was getting ready to commit to the Brooklyn Nets, along with his good friends Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan. They’d all grown close in 2016 with the United States Olympic Team and had talked often about playing with one another someday. All that remained was for free agency to officially open on the evening of June 30.

Durant got a call from Kawhi Leonard, asking if he’d consider teaming up with him and signing with the LA Clippers. They’d be great complements to each other, Leonard told Durant. He’d always admired him and had tremendous respect for him as a competitor.

Durant was flattered and more than a little stunned, according to sources close to the situation. He didn’t know Leonard that well, so getting a recruiting call like that made a real impression.

And while Durant followed through on his plan to play with Irving and Jordan in Brooklyn a few days later, the seeds of Friday’s blockbuster

Kawhi then was able to squeeze in a meeting with Paul George before meeting with the Lakers and was able to convince him to ask for a trade from OKC.