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?
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.