The biggest fireworks of the 4th of July didn’t officially happen on Thursday. Instead, they erupted late on Friday, July 5th, when Kawhi Leonard announced that he was signing a free-agent contract with his hometown Los Angeles Clippers.
And he was bringing fellow LA native Paul George with him.
Leonard was the final domino to fall in what was an insane NBA free agency period, and now that the commotion is all but over, the only thing left to do is marvel at what’s left behind. Kawhi and George with the Clips, LeBron James and Anthony Davis with the Lakers, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn, and the New York Knicks with money left to burn.
You’d think after all of this action that most NBA fans would be ecstatic. There was drama, movement, and a realignment of talent that should make next season must-see TV. Instead, there was a lot of complaining about how free agency has ruined the league.
Kawhi and LeBron and KD have taken the easy way out, the narrative goes. Instead of taking the money and shouldering the responsibility for carrying a franchise, the players have chosen to leave money on the table in order to play with friends.
Personally, I don’t get it.
Yes, we’re talking about a lot of money left on the table—tens of millions of dollars. But if the end-goal of our professional journey is only to make as much money as possible, then there are a lot of us who are doing it wrong.
I remember when I had the opportunity to join Sports Illustrated as a writer, the salary discussion was secondary to a look at the talent with whom I was getting the chance to work (and learn from!). Just by being around them, I knew I would become a better writer than I would’ve been otherwise.
Chances are, you’ve made a similar decision. I’m guessing the money at stake wasn’t as significant as it was for Kawhi and his peers, but if you’ve ever chosen culture and chemistry over just a few more dollars, then you understand their decision.
These are some of the best in the world at their jobs, and when they had the choice, the chose to go to work with people they liked. KD chose Kyrie, not because Brooklyn was going to give him the most money—Golden State was the team capable of doing that—but because Brooklyn was going to give him something Golden State never could: a close relationship with a teammate. By all accounts, Durant never found his personal comfort zone among his uber-talented Warriors teammates.
Same thing with Paul George—when Kawhi called and asked him to request a trade from Oklahoma City to the Clippers, George understood it was a chance to play with someone who understood not only the city’s culture, but the kind of culture their playing styles and personalities could create.
I love all of these moves because to me they are a sign of Greatness, not weakness. The Great Ones understand that they cannot win alone—true Greatness requires teammates and Great Teams require chemistry, a common bond around a desire to be the best.
It reminds me of something I read this week regarding a learning culture in the workplace: when the key stakeholders take a positive attitude towards learning, so does the rest of the team. When key stakeholders have a negative attitude, it carries over just as much.
Who we work with has a tremendous impact on how we work, and what’s true in your office is just as true in a locker room or on a basketball court.
Over the last 10 years, NBA players have demonstrated how much of an impact work environment has on their professional legacies; as these super-teams have formed and re-formed, we’ve seen them chase one another unabashedly just for the chance to control the chemistry and culture of their team.
It doesn’t mean they don’t want to win—it just means they want to win with people they like.
Don’t we all?
My friend John Maxwell says that all things being equal, people will choose to work with people they like; and all things being unequal, they still will. The Great Ones would rather leave money on the table and challenge themselves to win with friends than take the money and play with strangers.
So, I celebrate what Kawhi and the rest of the NBA have done. I welcome the chance to watch these players go to work on their chemistry experiments, because it reminds me of something I get to live every day with my team.
Winning is more fun with friends.
