Kawhi Leonard Is Joining Los Angeles Clippers … And So Is Paul George

Has there ever been a more unpredictable superstar in the NBA than Kawhi Leonard? He had held up the entire league in deciding his free-agent future. Re-sign with the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors? Jalen Rose said he heard "99 percent" that was going to happen. How about forming a super-team along with LeBron James and Anthony Davis with the Lakers? Alleged insider Cris Carter, who shares the same agent as Leonard, said that was going to happen.

Nope.

Word broke early on Saturday – naturally, a Woj bomb – that Leonard was going to sign with the Clippers and, incredibly, the team was going to trade for All-Star forward Paul George of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Think the Lakers vs. Clippers rivalry might be fun going forward?

It was very costly for the Clippers, though, giving up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had a terrific rookie season, Danilo Gallinari, four future first-round picks, a protected first-round pick and two pick swaps. That's a crazy-good deal for the Thunder. Leonard wanted to play with George – who is recovering from shoulder surgery and could miss the start of the season – and thus George asked OKC for a trade. Both Leonard and George are southern California natives.

Let's go ahead and say there will be a new NBA champion in 2020. The Raptors should make the Eastern Conference playoffs without Leonard, but they have zero chance of repeating or even reaching the conference finals. With several key guys in the last year of their contracts, they could be sellers ahead of the February trade deadline (if that happens, no playoffs). The Eastern Conference is now as wide open as it's been since LeBron James was a pup. The West just got more ridiculous. 

Check out the latest NBA title odds here, which now feature the Clippers as the favorites at 3-1.