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The idea of Paul George > the actual Paul George product. Then add that SGA is MVP-conversation caliber now. Clippers got robbed.

Great win-win trade for both sides. Both teams got what they needed

Paul George trade also got them Kawhi which made them favorites to win a championship for 4 (?) years. Plus good depth, only injury has really kept them back. It was the right move even without the expected success. It won't be remembered that way, but you can't predict the future.

Win-win. OKC got a young star and a bunch of picks. Clippers landed Kawhi because of the PG trade and have a yearly swing at the title. Helped them stay relevant post CP3/Blake era.

I think it’s a really tired discussion. Thunder wouldn’t do the deal without SGA, Clippers wouldn’t get Kawhii without getting PG. you can’t predict injuries, both teams would do it again

clearly a win for the thunder but -- nothing wrong with the clippers going for it. it was a massive swing for them and universally considered an amazing summer for them to land PG and Kawhi.

i guess you could have forecasted injury issues for PG and Kawhi, but no one knew SGA would turn into a 30 ppg star, or that the 2022 Clippers pick would land in the lottery (getting the thunder Jalen Williams).

The "good picks" from the trade ('24, '25 swap and '26) haven't even conveyed yet so in hindsight it's going to look very lopsided unless the Clippers make a deep run this year or next.

Don't let hindsight bias cloud your evaluation

Dub for the Thunder but a good trade all round

clippers needed to do it. went the furthest in the playoffs ever with them. listen to zach lowe talk about it, you need to understand just how bad the clippers historically have been and what making conference finals meant.

Fair trade. Clippers are among the pre-season title favorites every year.

Bad trade in retrospect, but no one knew PG and Kwahi would have missed this many games

Clippers made the right deal at the time. Just because it hasn't ended in a title doesn't mean it wasn't a great deal. They got the furthest they ever have with this team and their expectations going into seasons are the highest they've ever been with this team. That matters with the Clippers history. Clippers made the right deal and bagged a superstar in his prime who wanted to play on their team....which in combination led to another superstar in his prime.

It may be something we look back at as a failure to launch with the Clips not being able to reach their lofty expectations with this pair but it isn't for a lack of trying. The Thunder obviously have been able to create a new core led by Shai who they got from the Clippers. It was a win/win deal for both sides in the end as both got exactly what they wanted from the deal itself.

Clippers fleeced

At the time it was seen as a bit play by the clippers and a crazy amount of draft picks, SGA was a great piece to it but largely wasn’t seen as much in the deal compared to the picks is my memory

Good decision for both sides. Even if the Kawhi/PG thing hasn’t worked out for the Clippers, you have to take big swings sometimes— hindsight is 20/20 but it was a worthy attempt

The trade was highly seen for Clippers. On Reddit, Clippers were seen as the overwhelming favorites for the 2020 NBA championship that summer. Oklahoma was expected to be 100% outside of the playoffs, usually around 12th in the conference (yes, after the Chris Paul trade).

Just saying those facts probably can make you imagine the vibe. Definitely it was not AS amazing for Clippers as people were sure then.

Some would say that the only lesson is that you cannot predict injuries, and the trade indeed was super amazing for Clippers. Kawhi Leonard had injury issues, but seemed to have just proven that if he goes to a good team where he can rest for half of the games, he's amazing. And Paul George had played almost all games in the previous 4 years.

Reactions for the Thunder's haul were very mixed. "Trade grades" from A to D. I was pretty high on Shai (now I'm a bit less), but most people were not so high. Some people expected better players for one of the league's best in George. Gallinari was also a very controversial player, some said he was great... some not. Trade picks were called a great get by majority, but few others said that picks that far (again, Clippers were expected to be 1st for many seasons) were not of great value. This one is still midway - so far, Thunder got Tre Mann at 18th, Jaylen Williams at 12th, and they still have two more picks from that trade in 2024 and 2026, there is also a swap possibility in 2025, so it's still a bit abstract to say exactly what they got back for Paul George. Overall I think most people said that OKC got a good get considering the situation, and that it was a very nice deal of the standard "present for future" type.

Went far better for the Thunder but if you’re the clippers it was worth it. No Kawhi without PG and they needed to make an ambitious move.

Was great for Shai since Doc figures a way to bench him for an Older player. We lucky Sam Cassel was around to convince Doc to play Maxey after he gave Denver 40pts

Unfortunately the clips didn't win with that aging core, so they lose this trade. Ofc even one chip could change the perception of the trade.

Kawhi messed up, he should've rolled with the existing team, they would've done well

If I’m the Clippers I’d do that trade every single time. If you’re not swinging for the fences trying to win a championship then why even bother

It was a win-win for both clubs. Clippers were ready to contend and wouldn’t have gotten Kawhi without PG. Thunder looked at SGA as a building block for the future. Both are All-NBA level players and two of the better players to watch with the ball. Both teams and fan bases should be happy with the trade

Basketball wise it's a massive Thunder W so far and will only get better, but it changed the Clippers forever. They're getting FA, they're looked at as a good organization, and they make the playoffs (or are close) every year. Outside of Lob City, Clippers had been a joke their entire existence, and becoming an actual respected NBA team is worth whatever basketball consequences are down the line.

An absolute heist. Everyone got what they wanted but OKC had maximum leverage and set up a truly incredible runway to serious contention. The Clippers will run through the remaining years of two great but injury prone stars, and then start from less than zero on the rebuild.

Every team in the NBA makes that move 9/10 times. Hindsight is always 20/20 but it doesn't really matter what SGA ends up being when it's all said and done. Clippers wanted to win now, that's just the cost of doing business in the league. I say all this as an SGA fan btw.

Interestingly PG’s trade to the Thunder from Indiana also seems in part to have benefited his previous team since they were able to net Oladipo and Sabonis ,both of whom became all stars for Indy and later lead to them getting there best player today Tyrese Haliburton.

They had no other choice than to pull that trigger. Jerry West was working to have two Max slots for the 2019 off season for years. The list of free agents was otherworldly that summer and Kawhi was topping it, coming out of the season he had with the Raptors. He was willing to sign on one condition and the Clippers really had to go with it.

Neither of them have done anything of significance since and are pretty much in the same situation they were in at the time of trade. So even, with a slight edge to OKC because there is still a possible future there

Real ones knew Shai was a promising young player. The fact that they got 5 FRP along with Shai is a huge steal. With hindsight the more "fair" proposal would be ~2 picks for the chance that you win a ring in the next few years.

They got Kawhi by trading for PG. It hasn't worked perfectly but fans always love blow up moves more than they like aggressive moves, and the Clippers had real chances.

I loved SGA and still do. But he hasn’t proven anything yet and we’re 5 years on. Let’s see what he can do in the post season. And how many years removed from the trade will it be before anything significant happens. The clippers got PG AND Kawhi in that deal. They had chances but injury fucked them so far (as is tradition). So far for me it was the right decision.

Eh, looks worse in hindsight but you pull the trigger on that deal every time. Shai could’ve been the next Levert.

You don’t get Kawhi without PG either

Curious as to what led you to becoming an NBA fan? Genuine curiosity.

At the time it was worth a shot. PG was more proven, even after his horrific injury. Clippers were in win now mode. All things fair, it's even, since the Clips came within two wins of the Finals

this post happens every month somehow there's always a reevaluation of those clippers trades

In hindsight, I gueeeeessssss OKC won the trade? I don’t even know tbh. But the Clippers had to do it.

It’s a disaster, the Clippers haven’t done anything and most people have Shai as a top 10 player in the league.