Paul George and Kawhi Leonard shocked the NBA world when they joined forces on the Los Angeles Clippers this past summer, and its appears members of the Boston Celtics were surprised as well.
It was reported that George was heading to the Clippers via trade at the same moment we found out about Leonard’s offseason landing spot. The news caught plenty of basketball fans off guard, with Brad Wanamaker being one of them.
“Just being a fan of basketball, I was like, ‘Damn, that’s crazy! They’re gonna be really, really tough,’” Wanamaker told Celtics.com’s Marc D’Amico. “And then with the AD (Anthony Davis) and LeBron (James teaming up on the Lakers) thing, I was just like, ‘LA is gonna be on fire. The NBA is gonna be crazy this season.’”
File Jayson Tatum under the category of shocked as well.
“After LeBron said he was going to (the Lakers last year), I kinda figured Kawhi would go to the Clippers. But when I figured out Paul George was on the Clippers,” Tatum told D’Amico. “I was completely surprised.”
Surprised or not, Boston will be the first team to face the Clippers’ star-studded duo Wednesday night at Staples Center. Leonard returns after missing three games due to a knee contusion, while George is fresh off his return last week following double-shoulder surgeries this summer.
That may sound unfortunate to many Celtics fans, but Boston’s host of wing depth makes it one of the Clippers’ more formidable opponents. Of course, Gordon Hayward’s injury hampers that department immensely, but Wednesday will be an intriguing early-season test for the Eastern Conference leaders.
Tip-off between Boston and Los Angeles is set for 10 p.m. ET.
