you know so it it was tough to leave him U but I was close I was close to he was going to resign to Toronto and and we was going to go to Toronto I mean he understood he like I mean go get your bag I mean we know what it was before the season so uh we know what it was going to come down to it hasn't been an easy season for Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers I mean the man literally lost his Robin to his Batman and how did Kawhi Leonard respond well it seems like he doesn't really give a no I mean like seriously at the time of this announcement the man is just chilling in Costa Rica having a good time doesn't give a fck about his hair anymore and that's not to say that people shouldn't enjoy their time off but in this particular case I thought this was really funny when these were the images that came out to show kawai's reaction but now things are getting a little crazy kawhai turned some heads when he decided to commit to playing to Team USA and things haven't gone according to plan so before we get to the content we are making this push to 1 million subscribers at the time that I'm recording this video we're at 9 69,000 subscribers nice so if you guys want to help us make that push check if you're subscribed turn on our notifications to help the channel grow and now that we get all that out of the way do the [Music] [Music] intro we've been making bank on prize picks by playing the WNBA games I mean the other night I made $300 and I post all my picks for free onto my Instagram story and all you have to do to join is go to the link in the description down below and click on the link or download the prize pick app use my promo code flight mic you get up to $100 in a deposit match when you sign up and thank you prize pick for the sponsor M check 1212 what's going on everybody it's been a very difficult off season for the Los Angeles Clippers and particularly kawii Leonard as a matter of fact it's been a difficult few seasons for kawh Leonard I mean this man had the greatest 2019 season that you could ever have in the very beginning of the Season everyone was meing Kawhi Leonard for Greg papovich essentially excommunicating him to Toronto and they thought that Kawhi Leonard was just going to be banished for a season and that was going to be it but kawh Leonard in that one season became the greatest Toronto Raptor of all time leading the Raptors to their only championship and then there was a huge decision that needed to be made was he going to stay with the Toronto Raptors or was he going to leave he's always had eyes for Los Angeles but apparently according to Paul George's podcast the two were considering teaming up on the Toronto Raptors and I was close to going to Toronto like we were deciding to go to Toronto or the Clippers ultimately the Clippers put something better you know a better package together a better trade package together that sent me to La um but I was close I was close to he was going to resign to Toronto and and we was going to go to Toronto no honestly don't understand what could compel someone to choose the most cursed franchise in NBA history over the defending NBA champions the only thing that could really factor into this was the fact that kawii Leonard and Paul George really wanted to be in Los Angeles I mean that's really about it in their defense it's not like you get tremendous tax benefits in Canada it's not like you have significantly better weather in Toronto it was pretty much a choice between environment and location versus your ability to win championships and in the case of Paul Geor and kawh Leonard it was very clear that they wanted environment they both were trying to get to Los Angeles for years up until that point so Kawhi Leonard executed one of the greatest power moves we've ever seen in NBA history pretty much forcing the Clippers to trade all of their assets and a future MVP candidate in sheay gilis Alexander in order to get Paul George and while it was seen as impressive at the time this one power moov collectively any chances of Kawhi Leonard ever winning a championship ever again I mean we already know how this goes man and there first year together they blew a 3 to1 lead versus the Nuggets because according to mantes Herold Paul George did not know the coverage and when Paul George was called out by Mones Herold he said hey who are you talking to and in his response Mones Herold said I will knock you the out you're tripping you're wrong yeah that seems like a very positive environment how was the last year Kawai and PG would be fully healthy in year two they would make it to the Conference Finals but kawhai would get hurt that injury would drag on to year three and the Clippers would finish eighth in the west then in year four both PG and kawhai would get injured and then in year five of course kawhai would get injured once again this became a meme kawh Leonard was consistently injured but for some reason in the most Clippers fashion possible they decided to pay kawh Leonard so much money that they couldn't retain Paul George and the reason I'm bringing this up is it ties into Team USA so much so because Paul George shared how kawh lard reacted to him leaving to the Philadelphia 76ers I was just like man listen you know I think I'm going to go elsewhere like conversations with the Clippers didn't go how I wanted to I kind of broke down how I told you guys how it all played out you know and and we had that conversation and I was like man like I got to do what's best and uh I mean he understood he like I mean go get your bag like P go get your bag like you know I can't even be mad at you you know so you know I thought you know and I look at Kawai as one of my best friends in this in this league you know our families you know love each other you know so it it was tough to leave him and you could just tell kawh Leonard really doesn't give a I mean look at what he said at the Team USA press conference I mean we know what it was before the season so uh we know what it was going to come down to so we talked the whole way through um just no surprise um it's almost as if kawh Leonard told Paul George like hey go get your bag I'm not going to play anyway which has been the case so far look I don't blame Kawhi Leonard for not really caring anymore I mean you can make a very legitimate argument that Kawai already has the credentials to make it to the hall of fame once he retires he's a six-time All-Star a one-time NBA All-Star MVP three time NBA first team three-time NBA second team two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year a two-time champion two-time finals MVP he led the NBA in steals he's been named to the NBA 75th Anniversary team so at this point it's clear that what kawhai is trying to do is to make sure he's consistently healthy enough if he's consistently healthy enough he can continue to keep getting these gigantic bags that the NBA is giving out and that's pretty much what's been happening with kawi recently so you could understand why everybody was so surprised when kawh Leonard announced that he was going to play for Team USA I mean this is insanity could you just think about it for a second the man hasn't been able to make it out of a playoff series fully healthy since 20120 which by the way this is going to blow your mind that's four years ago I know it seems just like yesterday but it's 4 years since kawh Leonard has been able to complete an entire playoffs without leaving in a cast so that in of itself was so strange to begin with cuz I always view Team USA as a huge honor to play for Team USA and try to win gold for your country but it's always kind of like extra credit for a basketball player you know what I mean it's like it's so weird if you're barely able to make it throughout the regular season and then you're like hey I'm going to play extra basketball the craziest part about this is his ex teammates entire career was altered by a freak injury when he was playing for Team USA and the fact that Paul George is still as good as he was despite that freak injury is insane but eventually the cooler heads prevailed because kawh loner dropped out of Team USA and it seems like he was kind of forced into doing this now backstory to this is Tyron louu who is the Clippers coach and Lawrence Frank you know the guy in charge of absolutely destroying the Los Angeles Clippers roster are both involved in Team USA tyou is on the Team USA coaching staff whereas Lawrence Frank has attended practices and this is what Team USA Basketball had to say about it kawhai has been ramping up for the Olympics over the last several weeks and had a few strong practices in Las Vegas he felt ready to compete however he respects that USA basketball and the Clippers are determined that it's in his best interest to spend the remainder of the summer preparing for the upcoming season rather than participating in the Olympic Games in Paris which is so funny I mean we're talking about a guy that load manages for crying out loud and he was trying to play extra games throughout the summer now this came with some controversy because immediately after we found out who the replacement was going to be and the replacement was announced that it's going to be Derek white we look forward to him joining the team in the coming days as we continue preparations for pety we'll get to Derek white in a sec because there's some controversy around that but the end of the statement was I want to thank Kawai for his commitment to the USA Men's National Team he earned the opportunity to represent the United States but USA basketball and the Clippers leadership felt it's important to allow kawhai to prepare for the NBA season it's just such a bizarre 180 from kawhai Leonard because he says that he's been rehabbing his knee over the past 2 months and wasn't sure whether he'd be able to play until 2 weeks ago when he showed Improvement I took the time and I was able to turn around over the last two weeks so I'm out here now and yeah I'm having a good time but yeah Clippers I know that we were in a make or break playoff series about a month and a half ago but you know I feel good now I think I could play basketball so some inside info about this is people that are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter told the times last week that there was concern about Kawhi Leonard's knee after Grant Hill the managing director of Team USA Steve Kerr the coach of Team USA and Lawrence Frank the Clippers president of basketball operations watched him work out at the Clippers practice facility recently this is just so backwards bro because in 2017 Greg papovich and the Spurs were trying to get kawh Leonard to play kawhai was pushing back on playing this guy is notorious for being extra cautious whenever it comes to his injuries and here he is trying to push so he could play in Team USA honestly I think it's because he just wants a gold medal because that's the only Hardware that has eluded him but there's even more controversy to this NBA fans are really upset over the fact that Derek white was selected over a player like Kyrie Irving but I'm personally more shocked that Derek white was selected over Kyrie Irving and probably most importantly over bronny James I mean how do you do you not select bronny James for Team USA Basketball bronnie has demonstrated that he deserves this as JJ reck once said bronnie has earned this right bronnie talks about his hard work bronnie has earned this through hard work and bronnie wouldn't be handed Team USA at this point he's demonstrated that he has the potential to play and compete he could bring the defensive versatility as a 6'4 guarden shoes oh wait what he's 6'1 oh Jokes Aside love you bronnie hope you succeed for the Lakers this year the reason why Derek white was added to Team USA is one Team USA historically gets their kicked by opposing guards and two Derek white is not going to complain about a lack of playing time but I can understand why people felt like Kyrie Irving was way more deserving but people are also mentioning how Jaylen Brown happened to put these post these three emojis the moment Derek white was announced as the replacement and I will admit it is definitely interesting to choose Derek white over Jaylen brown but I also find it kind of funny because the Boston Celtics have been dealing with a lot of this type of stuff recently I mean Eastern Conference Finals MVP was Jaylen Brown NBA Finals MVP was Jaylen Brown selected to Team USA was Jason Tatum and Derek white but not Jaylen Brown it just it I wonder if this is all just to try to pin Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown against each other which obviously isn't the case but it's just so interesting that they would choose Derek white over Jaylen brown but I don't know let me know in the comments section down below what do you guys think about all this Team USA drama I personally found it hilarious that Kawhi Leonard was trying to play to begin with but apart from that in the NBA a huge trade is coming Lori marinin could completely alter the course of the West depending on if the Warriors or Spurs trade him but the Utah Jazz might have something else up their sleeve we spent 18 minutes breaking this entire thing down I'll leave a link to it in the end screen in front of you and aside from that I'm your boy Mike I'm dropping our mic until our next upload