Clippers' Lack of Tribute for Kawhi Leonard Speaks Volumes About Their Relationship

The trade between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Toronto Raptors is finally official. Both teams have announced the terms of the trade, ending the two and a half month saga since the deal was first agreed upon.

The Clippers quickly proceeded to welcome Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick with social media posts. Interestingly enough, they didn't have a message or a video thanking Kawhi Leonard for his contributions to the organization.

Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers Clearly Have a Strained Relationship

This will perhaps change over the next couple of days or weeks, but the lack of tribute so far to a player who was your best player for seven seasons is certainly telling.

It highlights the strained relationship between the Clippers and Kawhi after the cap circumvention punishment.

There have been reports over the last two weeks that the Clippers were frustrated and furious with Leonard after he got away with a slap on the wrist. When the Clippers received the harshest penalty in NBA history for their dealings with Leonard, the 35-year-old superstar only got a $700,000 fine. He also gets to go to one of his preferred landing spots and compete for a championship.

A big reason for this was the fact that Leonard and the players' union negotiated with the league during the punishment process. The NBA wanted to settle the investigation with Steve Ballmer, but he wasn't interested in taking a deal. Adam Silver's league office then went to the National Basketball Players Association and Leonard's camp to negotiate the punishment. This took arbitration off the table for the Clippers.

Perhaps this has caused the Clippers to feel betrayed by Kawhi. After hitching their wagon to one another for the past seven seasons, the Clippers are feeling the brunt of it, while Leonard gets away unscathed.

But this isn't the first time the Clippers have done a similar thing. After trading Chris Paul to the Raptors at the trade deadline and essentially forcing him into early retirement, the Clippers didn't share a tribute video or message for CP3 for a long time. They refused to acknowledge their disrespectful treatment of a franchise legend, which included giving his No. 3 jersey number to Bradley Beal this offseason.

This is not an ideal way to part ways with the two biggest stars in your franchise history. This Kawhi Leonard saga has been an embarrassment, and this is just the latest twist in the biggest blunder in Clippers history.

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