Stephen A: Kawhi Leonard Getting Paul George Is 'Power Move of Epic Proportions'

Kawhi Leonard changed the entire landscape of the NBA. 

By signing with the Los Angeles Clippers and recruiting Paul George—who was traded to the team after he told the Oklahoma City Thunder he wanted to be dealt, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN—Leonard altered the future of all three teams chasing him, including the Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors.

And ESPN's Stephen A. Smith described it as a "power move of epic proportions" for not only shaking up the NBA power structure but also removing the Clippers from the shadow of their buzzworthy neighbors, the Lakers:

No doubt, a superteam of Leonard, LeBron James and Anthony Davis would have been projected to rule over the NBA for the foreseeable future. And it would have continued the narrative that the Clippers were simply the little brothers in Los Angeles and that the Lakers continue to have the most appeal around the NBA when it comes to attracting stars.  

It was a narrative-changing summer on the other coast, too, with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving choosing the Brooklyn Nets over the New York Knicks in the battle for NYC.

Make no mistake about it—the organizational structure and stability of the Nets and Clippers won a major battle over the flashy appeal, drama and at-times downright dysfunction of the Knicks and Lakers this summer.