So I’m a fairly new basketball fan. I didn’t follow the NBA at all in 2019. I knew that the Warriors were one of the best teams and I knew who Stephen Curry and Lebron James were, but that was about as far as my basketball knowledge went. I certainly didn’t know who Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or even Paul George were back then. So just today I was reading through Shai’s Wikipedia article and found out that not only did he used to play for the Clippers, but he was traded to Thunder for Paul George.
Just to refresh your memory, the Clippers sent Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, and five future first round picks to the Thunder in exchange for George. At the time Gilgeous-Alexander had just completed his rookie year, in which he started 73 games for the Clippers but averaged only 10 points and 26 minutes per game. Now, he was just named to the All-NBA first team with the Thunder.
So I’m curious what you thought of the trade then and what you think of it now. What did people generally think of the trade at the time? Was it panned or did people think it was a good deal? For me, I think the Clippers made a mistake. Paul George is still good and I’m certainly not saying he’s washed, but he’s a full eight years older than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Shai could easily play 10-15 more years, while George has 5 years left at best. If the Clippers had won a championship with George, you could argue it was worth it, but they haven’t. I think that the Clippers with Kawhi Leonard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and whatever they could have turned those five first round picks into certainly would be better than just Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The Thunder on the other hand, with their young core of SGA, Giddey, and Holmgren, could look pretty scary in 2-3 years. I certainly think the Thunder got the better end of the deal.
What did you think of the trade at the time? Have you changed your mind in retrospect?
Well even then I think people knew Shai was a promising player and played a big part in the clippers making the playoffs. Danilo Gallinari was also pretty good. So it didn’t feel like the clippers were giving up nothing but Paul George was coming off of an MVP candidate season and without PG13 there was no signing Kawhi. So, yeah the trade looked good for the Clippers at the time seeing as we thought they still had depth in players like Lou Williams and Harrell so it didn’t feel like losing Shai and Danilo was some massive blow.
It’s a disaster, the Clippers haven’t done anything and most people have Shai as a top 10 player in the league.
In hindsight, I wish we had kept SGA and had the patience to build a great team with those picks. I know it’s a win-now league so it’s not really feasible that Balmer would have wanted to wait.
Let’s face it guys, either Kawhi, PG or both will get hurt again this season and we won’t really go into the playoffs in a good position.
I mention this at the start of every season recently and I got voted down. It’s crazy to not expect it at this point. You can’t count on many things in life, but you can count on Kawhi or PG getting hurt when we need them the most.
Thunder haven’t done anything and neither have the Clippers. Thunder won the trade technically because of PG and Kawhi being hurt all the time.
At the time It did make sense - not all risks pan out, doesn’t mean they were bad moves at the time. It would have been better to sign Jimmy Butler with their open cap space instead though. I don’t know if they could have pulled him away from the Heat, but imagine Kawhi/Jimmy/SGA and all their picks? Maybe Kawhi is still injured every year anyways, but that’s a loaded team.
With PG they were still immediate perennial contenders who very possibly could have a title if they stayed healthy. The only post-season they had Kawhi healthy for was the bubble year under Doc who had Montrezl Harrell guarding Jokic in the playoffs against the advice of the front office.
And then Kawhi missed the playoffs in 21, 22, and 23. I think 2021 was their year, they made the WCF after Kawhi went down against the Jazz and won 2 games against Phoenix without him. With Kawhi I’d have bet on them winning the title that year.
Since getting PG meant getting Kawhi, both teams would do the exact same trade again.
I refuse to act like the Thunder are going to be gunning for the Warriors 73-win record next season. 45 wins and a playing tough a in first-round series loss in the playoffs would be a big win for them.
Don’t play. That isn’t the Hornets trading Kobe for Vlade.
Would have done the trade 10/10 times if it were 2019. Shai at the time was a wildcard player who’s success was hard to predict and PG was a consistent , all star caliber player. In retrospect i think it was a good trade for both the OKC thunder and the Clippers. The Clippers squad the year after the trade was undeniably the best squad it’s every been and OKC recieved Shai and plenty of capital
OKC definitely won that trade.
Kawhi only signed with the Clippers because of PG, so its only a small/moderate loss for them, mostly due to injuries. If they had stayed healthy it would be an okay trade for them. That’s also assuming SGA develops the same, which is far from guaranteed as a clear #2/#3 on a team trying to contend instead of a development-focused team like OKC has been the last few years.
For OKC, this was obviously a huge win. We got an all star player who will be hitting his prime right as we are ready to start contending, plus a bunch if picks to help surround him with talent. Just SGA and Jdub is a win, even if none of the other picks pan out.
TLDR: The trade was a win-win, with the Thunder getting a huge win and the Clippers getting a small win that didn’t quite pay out due to injury.
Why does everyone think we need their personal background
The trade initially favored the Clippers’ win-now approach with Paul George, but over time, it appears the Thunder may have the better long-term gain with SGA’s rise and the acquired draft picks.
The LOSER of this trade is Kawhi Leonard the GM. He forced this trade into happening, okayed it. And it left him in obscurity for the remainder of his career playing for a second rate no good franchise.
From the jump I thought this was a loser for the clippers. SGA showed this upside, and all those picks are already starting to sting.
Thunder haven’t even made the playoffs but somehow this is a win for them because assets
Can the thunder win a playoff series before we gush over how good it turned out for them lol