Report: Kawhi, Paul George Both in Clippers' Lineup for 1st Time vs. Celtics
It took 15 games, but Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are reportedly set to take the court together for the first time.
Frank Isola of The Athletic reported Leonard and George are set to play in Wednesday's game against the Boston Celtics. ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ohm Youngmisuk confirmed Isola's report.
"Finally. It'll be great," Clippers center Ivica Zubac told reporters. "We're really good with only Kawhi. We're really good with only PG. You put them two together, it's gotta be good. We'll see it tonight. But I'm really excited."
George missed the season's first 11 games as he recovered from offseason shoulder surgery. Leonard has missed each of the last three contests for right knee injury management.
In a profile by Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN, George said his pairing with Leonard came as the result of a years-long effort to play together. George said he requested a trade to San Antonio during his time with the Indiana Pacers but was ultimately sent to Oklahoma City.
"Since that moment, we were trying to pair up with one another," George said. "We were trying to make it work. I had obligations that I wanted to come back to Oklahoma and give it another shot, and then I felt that I needed to move on. I needed to go in another direction and I needed to at that point do what I wanted to do my whole career."
The Thunder traded George to the Clippers in July as part of a blockbuster that also resulted in Leonard signing in Los Angeles. Leonard told Clippers management his signing with the franchise was contingent on them being able to acquire George, who then requested a trade from the Thunder.
The ripple effect from that deal also led to Russell Westbrook's trade to Houston for Chris Paul. It's fair to say that Leonard and George's decision to team together created one of the biggest domino effects in NBA history.
The Clippers have gotten off to a 9-5 start with their stars having yet to play together.
