LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Clippers introducing native Southern California superstars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George at Green Meadows Recreation Center on Wednesday will go down as one of the most historic moments in the franchise’s history.

Leonard, though, was eager to set the record straight on the narrative that he led on the Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors during free agency.

“If they didn’t want to wait for me, they didn’t have to,” the two-time NBA Finals MVP told Yahoo Sports in an exclusive interview after the introductory press conference. “They had a big opportunity to sign me. [The Lakers] were close, but I ended up on the other side.”

Leonard would have likely chosen the Lakers if the Clippers hadn’t found a way to pull off the blockbuster trade for George, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Leonard was in a jovial mood Wednesday and was more talkative than usual. He was finally home. The joy shined through, except when mentioning the fallout in the aftermath of selecting the Clippers.

“I didn’t lead anyone on,” Leonard told Yahoo Sports. “I took my time in free agency, as I should, to make sure I made the best decision for myself and my family. I feel like some of the media coverage over it made it feel that way, with people saying I’m signing with Toronto 99 percent or I’m going to the Lakers 99 percent. I don’t ever want to have that bad karma come back on me trying to make the Lakers miss out on players they should have gotten or vice-versa with the Raptors.”

Leonard wasn’t done setting the record straight.

“Y’all kept saying that me and Paul’s favorite team growing up was the Lakers. I’m not going to say [Yahoo Sports], but whatever media outlet was out there saying that Kawhi prefers the Lakers over the Clippers, or Paul loves the Lakers, was wrong,” Leonard told Yahoo Sports. “I wasn’t a fan of the Lakers growing up. Not saying that’s why I didn’t choose them, but that’s not what it is. I wasn’t a fan of them, and [Paul] just told you guys he was a Clippers fan.”

View photos Paul George and Kawhi Leonard were introduced by the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) More

The Clippers, for their entire existence in this city, have always been portrayed as the unwanted stepchild. But on Wednesday, in a packed basketball gymnasium filled with reporters and children from the area, it was a day when the Clippers seized control and snatched the attention from their Staples Center roommates who happen to own 16 championships.

“It’s a great chance and opportunity for us to start anew, you know, a legacy here in L.A.,” George told Yahoo Sports. “The Clippers haven’t been to the Promised Land yet and that’s something that we can bring to a different part of L.A. I think that’s attractive. Again, we are playing at home, I was a Clippers fan growing up, so this hits differently for me. I get a chance to do something that I dreamed of as a kid playing in the front yard. This is just a different opportunity that I don’t think anybody wants to pass up in their career.”

And it was all reportedly made possible by Leonard, who has been credited for stunning the basketball world by engineering a path in which the Clippers could obtain two top-10 talents this offseason.

“S---, I guess I need a front-office position if that’s what happened,” Leonard told Yahoo Sports. “They’re saying I was the architect of the deal. I’ll say this: players talk, and when I talked to the Clippers, they had certain players they thought they could pair with me before I signed. His name was on the board, and I said I would love to play with him. They made the opportunity happen in probably two to three days later. I was close to signing with other teams, but once they told me that this deal was on the table, I jumped for it.”

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