The Message Kawhi's Camp Told Guys In Free Agency: 'If You Fuck This Up, You're Out. Keep Your Fucking Mouth Shut'

[Source] - “If you fuck this up, you’re done, you’re out,” one front-office executive involved in the process explained to The Athletic. “They didn’t say that, but that was the message. It was basically, ‘Look, we would appreciate discretion.’ Which means, ‘Keep your fucking mouth shut.’”

The piece is really interesting. It’s a long look into Kawhi’s free agency and how the Clippers really went after him and Paul George. But, all that matters is this line. Look at it again:

If you fuck this up, you’re done, you’re out,” one front-office executive involved in the process explained to The Athletic. “They didn’t say that, but that was the message. It was basically, ‘Look, we would appreciate discretion.’ Which means, ‘Keep your fucking mouth shut.’”

What a fucking line. That’s how you work the system. That’s what makes Kawhi so damn good. He wanted everyone to stay quiet and they did. Well, except Magic who told pretty much everyone in the world that he locked him up for the Lakers. This is pretty much the thought process when it came to the Lakers:

“I truly believe that when Magic started telling the media about the meeting he had with Kawhi and Dennis, that sealed the fate of the Lakers,” a person involved in the process told The Athletic. “I think that right there was when Dennis and Kawhi decided we can’t trust the Lakers as an organization. And that was it. I think that was it for them.”

This is what we need more of though. Think about where you were when you likely woke up to find the news that Kawhi and Paul George were both on the Clippers. I miss that excitement of a blind-sided move. We lost it with the draft and most of free agency. But, this is Kawhi’s world.

He worked the game better than anyone has worked the game. He got back home to Los Angeles with someone that he wanted without leaving a team in the dust. He won a title for the Raptors. It didn’t matter what he did there. That’s why he can tell teams to keep their fucking mouth shut.