If you want to say who is the biggest loser in the NBA in recent years, the Los Angeles Clippers are definitely on the list. As Paul George, who has had two All-Star forwards since '19, Kawhi Leonard has been strengthening these two players over the years, but they have paid a lot of luxury tax, and their best result is only the second round of the playoffs, and even this year's Super Four have not been able to touch the floor of the Western Conference finals. As for why, it's because these two All-Star forwards are often injured that one of them can be seen sitting in the audience in a suit or even watching the others play together in a suit in almost every round of the series.
Of course, it's just that there are no results, and paying more luxury tax is a lesson, but the Clippers didn't pay less chips in order to get Paul George from the Thunder, and it can be said that the Clippers gave away 10 years of their future, which is simply a loss to Mrs. and a soldier. Today, the author will take you to see what the Clippers sent away in order to get Paul George, and whether it was lost to Grandma's family.
1. Danilo Gallinari
Danilo Gallinari, who was drafted by the New York Knicks with the 6th pick in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft, started his NBA career and averaged 19.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game that season when he was traded
As an Italian anti-aircraft gun, Danilo Gallinari can be described as one of the league's most accurate big men, except for the first year of his career due to injury season reimbursement, since the second year, he has not averaged less than 12 points per game, and basically hovered around 16 points, although the defense has been criticized, but in the 18-19 season when he stayed with the Clippers, he averaged 19.8 points and 6.1 rebounds in 30.3 minutes per game, and shot 46.3% from the field, and was completely a quasi-All-Star forward. Unfortunately, in order to get Paul George, he was sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder. For the Thunder, Gallinari's scoring perfectly complemented Paul George's departure, averaging 18.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game to help the team reach the playoffs. Although they lost to the Rockets in the first round, the Thunder also fell in the first round when Paul George was there, so this deal was basically nothing for the Thunder at the time.
2. Shay Gilgeos-Alexander
Although at the time, the Thunder traded Paul George and was still a first-round playoff team, but it never came to be a big deal, because there was also a supernova named SG Alexander in the deal. SG Alexander was the No. 11 pick in the 2018 NBA draft, and in the first year of his career, he averaged only 10.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game for the then bad team Clippers, and he didn't see any star potential at all. However, when he was traded to the Thunder, he became a dragon in the first year, and his data evolved to an average of 19 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, and then even worse, averaging 23.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game, 24.5 points, 5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game, and once evolved to an average of 31.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game, and was selected to the All-Star team and the NBA All-Star team in the 22-23 season, younger and stronger than Paul George.
This year, Alexander once again improved his ability to lead the team, with an average of 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2 steals per game of 30+5+5 data to help the Thunder to the first place in the West, and swept the Pelicans in the first round, successfully leading the team to the second round of the playoffs. It is also worth mentioning that in this year's regular season MVP selection, Alexander ranked second, which is something that Paul George has not done in his entire career, so he can no longer be described in the future, and the Thunder won the present directly because of him.
In addition to the above two players who helped the team win then and now, the Thunder also won the future, as they also received four first-round picks from the Clippers when they traded Paul George, namely the 2021 Heat first-round pick, the 2022 Clippers first-round pick, the 2024 Clippers first-round pick, and the 2026 Clippers first-round pick, of which the 2021 and 2022 picks have been cashed in:
2021 First-Round Pick (Trey Mann)
In 2021, the Thunder selected Trae Man with the 18th pick with the Heat's first-round pick, and he averaged 22.8 minutes per game in the first year of his career, with 10.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists. Unfortunately, due to Alexander's rise, the Thunder didn't have room to level him up, so they traded him to the Hornets this year and acquired veteran Gordon Hayward to add playoff experience to the team.
2022 first-round pick (Jalen Williams)
In 2022, the Thunder used the Clippers' first-round pick to select Jalen Williams with the 12th pick, and his development potential is obviously not weak Paul George, who averaged 14.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game in the first year of his career, and even more so in the second year, averaging 19.1 points, 4 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, helping the team to play first in the West. In the playoffs, Williams even evolved again, averaging 20.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5 assists per game, and it is not surprising that he will basically be an All-Star forward in the future.
As for the value of the Clippers' first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, the 2026 first-round picks may be worth a fortune. The reason is that although the Clippers have made the playoffs this year, the first-round pick in 2024 is about the 20th pick, and this year is a draft year that is better than nothing, but the giant combination of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard has been slow to achieve, and this year it was even swept out of the first round, and it is almost about to be announced for disbandment. A rebuilding team is obviously not going to do well, so the 2026 unprotected first-round pick is probably in the top 10 pick, and as long as the Thunder aren't particularly unlucky, they can pick another suitable potential player.