Kawhi Talks About His New Teammate, High Praise for Veteran Center

The Los Angeles Clippers are hoping to compete for an NBA championship this season. Last year, they looked very promising entering the playoffs, but fell in seven games to a tough Denver Nuggets team. 

This season, the Clippers’ roster is revamped. They picked up Bradley Beal, John Collins, Chris Paul, and Brook Lopez this offseason, giving them a whole new set of weapons. The only thing that could hold back these Clippers is their age and injury history. That’s been the case for years, however, and they haven’t been able to overcome it yet.

Kawhi Leonard, the most important player on the Clippers’ roster, recently spoke about one of the new Clippers' free-agent acquisitions. 

“I love that we have a shooting five. And we don’t have to put a 6’7” or 6’8” guy in to try to fill that center void. He can score on a small or like size in the post. He’s been doing great… Veteran guy. Well spoken. Knows how to bring humor in the locker room as well. You need that as the season goes on, because you do have a lot of boring days. You need that team camaraderie and somebody to give you a laugh.”

Lopez is not only filling a need on the court, but also off the court. Everyone knew that bringing in Lopez was a solid signing; he instantly gave the Clippers one of the best backup centers in the league. 

Bringing a good vibe to the locker room is just a bonus. The Clippers have a ton of veteran leaders, but Leonard and James Harden aren’t known to be the most vocal. Having guys like Lopez and Chris Paul join the locker room could be huge for camaraderie.