NBA free agency was a crazy time. For a while there, it even looked like the Lakers were the front-runners to land Kawhi Leonard.
Fans were so sure they would land the reigning Finals MVP, in fact, someone even painted a Kawhi Leonard Lakers mural at Venice Beach.
MORE: Best contracts of 2019 NBA free agency
But in a wild, tragic turn of events for Lakers fans everywhere, Leonard and Paul George, who demanded a trade from OKC, both ended up in LA — but not with the purple and gold.
Kawhi Leonard: I'm coming to L.A. ... to play for the Clippers!
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) July 6, 2019
Lakers fans: pic.twitter.com/Nj8YMdVLNd
On Wednesday, the Clippers held an introductory news conference, welcoming Leonard and George to the franchise and surprising them with a mural. One Lakers fan used the mural unveiling as an opportunity to heckle the Clippers stars and voice his disappointment to the two directly.
In a video, the man was seen yelling that Los Angeles was still a "Lakers hood" and that the Clippers should move to Seattle.
#Lakers fan speaks his mind during #Clippers mural unveiling for Paul George/Kawhi Leonard after the presser: “This is a Lakers good!” pic.twitter.com/NRUGxubOrg
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) July 24, 2019
There was a Lakers fan that showed up and started heckling, called the Clippers mural graffiti. “This is a Lakers’ zip code.” Said Clips we’re gonna end up in Seattle. Honestly, not bad trash talk to kick things off.
— Paolo Uggetti (@PaoloUggetti) July 24, 2019
Nothing like a little trash talk to kick off the battle of LA.