Kawhi Leonard was reportedly very straight forward with Serge Ibaka when it came to recruiting him to the Clippers.
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The Los Angeles Clippers had an interesting offseason, to say the least. They did not make any moves that would drastically shift the paradigm of the Western Conference. Only a couple of their pieces were moved during this offseason.
For example, the Clippers gave up Landry Shamet in a multi-team trade that would get them Luke Kennard from the Detroit Pistons.
Most notably, Montrezl Harrel left the Clippers to join the Los Angeles Lakers. In wake of this, the Clippers signed Toronto big man Serge Ibaka. Ibaka is most definitely an upgrade over Harrell on the defensive end of the floor.
Also Read: Serge Ibaka to Clippers: How does the big man impact Kawhi Leonard’s title chances next season?
Kawhi Leonard recruits Serge Ibaka to the Clippers via text.
Kawhi Leonard and Ibaka are quite fond of one another as they were two of the most important pieces on the 2019 Toronto Raptors team that clinched the championship.
Winning a title together is grounds for a solid friendship and this is what prompted Kawhi to recruit Ibaka to the Clippers. However, in absolute Kawhi fashion, the 2x Finals MVP was completely nonchalant about it.
Kawhi texted Serge and asked him, “Hey what’s up bro? Are you coming or no?”
Seems like this tactic worked as fast forward to today and Serge is officially a Los Angeles Clipper.
Serge Ibaka and Kawhi Leonard’s run with the Raptors.
Ibaka proved himself to be a worthy 2nd option to Leonard’s first on the Raptors, multiple times. This was showcased in Game 7 of the ECSF where Ibaka and Leonard were essentially the only 2 Raptors who scored and defended at a relatively high level.
Aside from on court chemistry, Ibaka and Leonard are great friends off the court as well. After all, the Ibaka-Leonard tandem is responsible for the now iconic, “What it do baby!” punchline.
