Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to Join the Clippers in a Stunner

Oklahoma City will likewise acquire Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a promising guard, and Danilo Gallinari, a veteran forward, in the trade, according to the person. It’s more than any team has ever surrendered for a superstar player, but the Clippers clearly felt that they had to part with all of those draft assets, as well as two quality players, to ensure that Leonard chose them ahead of the Lakers and the Raptors.

As The New York Times first reported, Leonard made it clear to the Clippers that he would not sign with them unless he would be joined by a proven All-Star sidekick. The cost was high, but the Clippers found a way to unite them, both Southern California natives. Leonard is from the Riverside area, east of Los Angeles, and played at San Diego State; George grew up in Palmdale, north of Los Angeles, in the Antelope Valley.

Leonard’s choice was a stinging outcome for at least three other franchises, starting with the Raptors. Never before has an N.B.A. finals most valuable player chosen to immediately leave the newly crowned champions. But Toronto knew there was no guarantee Leonard would stay when they acquired him last season, trading the All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan and a former top-10 draft pick, Jakob Poeltl, to the San Antonio Spurs.

It proved to be a magical deal, with Leonard, 28, cementing his status as the league’s foremost two-way force. After eliminating the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the playoffs with an unforgettable Game 7 buzzer-beater, Leonard won N.B.A. finals M.V.P. honors with his second team after leading the Raptors to a six-game triumph over the two-time reigning champion Golden State Warriors. Only James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have won finals M.V.P. for at least two different teams.

A 6-foot-7 forward, Leonard averaged 26.6 rebounds and 7.3 rebounds in 60 regular-season games in Toronto while shooting 49.6 percent from the field. He was even more dominant in the playoffs, averaging 30.5 points and 9.1 rebounds for Toronto, the league’s first champions based outside the United States. The Raptors attracted a crowd of millions at their championship parade, but the over-the-top adoration Leonard received from an entire country was not enough to sway him to stay in Canada.