Kawhi Leonard heading to Clippers is a promising turn of events for Celtics

LAS VEGAS -- One of the wildest NBA offseasons in NBA history just reached a new apex on Saturday morning: Kawhi Leonard will be a Clipper and in an incredible twist, Paul George will be joining him.

The two transactions are technically separate but will be forever intertwined as Leonard committed to the Clippers on a four-year deal on Saturday morning with the knowledge that his new team would have an All-Star wing ready to join him.

The Clippers got Leonard's commitment by making a Godfather offer to a Thunder squad that was in luxury tax jail this offseason with no real path to improvement. Despite a disenchanted George (with two years left on his deal) wanting out per reports, the Clippers still had to offer up four unprotected first-round picks (2021 (Miami), 2022, 2024, 2026), a protected 2023 first-round pick from Miami, and two pick swaps (2023, 2025) along with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari to pry George away. It may go down as one of the biggest trade hauls in NBA history for the Thunder but the price may very well be worth it for the Clippers since it gives them the reigning Finals MVP.

There are an incredible number of layers of this transaction to dissect. Leonard deserves all kinds of respect for opting to form his own championship core in Los Angeles with George rather than form a superteam with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The Clippers swung for the fences and now have the makings of a championship contender for the foreseeable future with Beverley, Shamet, George, Leonard, Harrell, Lou Williams all under contract with nice role pieces (MacGruder, Zubac, Robinson) to surround them with. The Lakers are left scrambling now to fill out the roster with leftover free agents (McGee, Caldwell-Pope, Danny Green have all signed). The long wait for Leonard really hamstrung their options.

Perhaps most importantly for the Celtics and the rest of the NBA, Leonard's decision ensures the league is as wide open as it's been in a long time. Almost half of the Western Conference will probably consider themselves title contenders next season to some degree (Clippers, Lakers, Warriors, Rockets, Jazz, Nuggets, Blazers) although the top three teams on that list look to be a cut above the rest. It’s safe to say the Clippers should be the favorite now with the supporting cast that’s arguably better around Leonard than what he had in Toronto.

With that said, the Clippers are no super team and are far from a slam dunk finals champion. There are two All-Stars and a bunch of strong supporting pieces around them but can Doc Rivers make the pieces work together? The draft cupboard is also completely empty after Saturday's trade for Geroge so future routes to improve will have to become almost solely through trade and free agency. They will be a top contender but getting out of the West will be a gauntlet now for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, one contender just fell out of the mix in the East with the Raptors losing Leonard and Danny Green to the Lakers shortly thereafter. Toronto is still a playoff team with their remaining core but they should be in the middle of the pack at best in the East.

Suddenly, that leaves a Celtics team with a brighter outlook in the East for the foreseeable future. The Bucks and 76ers will rightly enter next season as top favorites in the conference, but the Celtics have the capability to be a clear-cut No. 3 behind both squads. If everything goes right for Boston, it’s not crazy to think they have a shot at taking down the Bucks or Sixers and getting out of the East next year. Milwaukee lost a key piece in Malcolm Brogdon while the new-look Sixers should be formidable on defense but have legitimate questions about crunch-time scoring options. The Celtics have some big question marks as well but the odds of them overcoming them just got a bit better with Leonard heading West for good. During an offseason in which they lost their two best players for nothing, this is some overdue good news for Boston.

The truth is, Leonard heading to the Clippers was always the best-case scenario for Boston to some degree. Leonard staying in Toronto would have been a roadblock in the East for years. Leonard joining the Lakers would have been a super team that would have been impossible for this Celtics team to beat for the foreseeable future in any playoff matchup.

The Clippers with Leonard and George are a daunting squad, but they aren’t unstoppable. Teams will have more than a puncher’s chance against them if they do everything right.

The Celtics are still a ways away from being a legitimate title contender right now, but dreams of getting to the NBA Finals just got a little bit more realistic on Saturday morning. The window of opportunity opened up a little bit more in the Eastern Conference with Leonard departing and it will be very interesting now to see just how aggressive the Celtics get in trying to take advantage of that.