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The Clippers may have the only two superstars in the NBA who you could be stuck on a desert island with and only speak to via head nods and ass taps.
Clippers bench players have to be wondering whether Kawhi knows they exist as human beings or if they’re just ambiguous blobs of matter that Kawhi must interact with every day before going home to stare at a wall.
The double-headed “leaders” of the Clippers have lifted the team to a very good 31-14 record, but they’re still five games behind the big brothers who share their city and that must be frustrating for everyone.
So what happens when frustration seeps into an organization? Yep, salacious reports about locker room malfunction begin to seep into sports media.
Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic published a piece Thursday that pulled the curtain back on some inter-squad friction caused by preferential treatment of its stars.
Off the court, sources say there are some teammates who have struggled with the organization’s preferential treatment that is afforded to Leonard and George.
But that element didn’t exist with last season’s Clippers, where there was a largely egalitarian ecosystem. It has been an adjustment for multiple players to see two newcomers come in and have such a significant influence on everyone’s schedule.
I think there’s a huge number of NBA fans who believe that Kawhi’s introversion is just a Bill Belichickian front to not have to answer to the media, but apparently the dude just doesn’t like to talk, not even to his co-workers.
Even Leonard’s biggest supporters will admit that he is a lead-by-example type, and the fact that George tends to be the same means there is occasional uncertainty about whose voice should rise above the rest.
“I think it boils down to Kawhi not talking, and so who is their true leader?” one source with knowledge of the Clippers’ dynamics said. “How do you get around that?”
Montrezl Harrell, who has spent the last three seasons with the Clippers, was visibly frustrated when asked about the vibe in the locker room following a 25-point loss to the Grizzlies in early January: “I don’t know brother, I don’t know and maybe that’s the problem right there.”
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Tension had been quietly building in the locker room, according to multiple sources, but Harrell’s comments confirmed the uncomfortability some felt. The comments also rubbed certain players the wrong way, as they feel that Harrell’s post-game mood can be dictated more by his individual box-score performance than the game’s outcome, according to sources.
Pipe down, Montrezl. The Clippers haven’t made it out of the first round in over five years, may be you’re not the guy to demand greatness.
But if he isn’t, who is? The ghost of Chris Kaman?
[h/t Complex, The Athletic]