“Both Sides Won”: Paul George on Clippers Giving up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Trade With OKC Thunder in 2019

The Clippers won tonight’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder 128-117. The two teams have a history going back to 2019. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC’s star guard, was LA’s own. But the franchise was looking to grab a title and with Kawhi Leonard fresh off a Raptors championship and entering free agency, pretty much stipulated the presence of Paul George on the team.

So with such circumstances lining up, the Clippers offered SGA to OKC and PG landed in LA. Now, five years forward, he was asked about the trade. He offered a genuine take, as he said, “Their commitment to me is my commitment to them … Both sides won.”

Looking at this season, we can certainly say that the Clippers are winning. The Thunder, on the other hand, got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with Shai. Let’s start with LA. The obvious purpose for the trade – a title, didn’t happen for the Clippers. But that is, to an extent, due to the injury-filled seasons of the stars.

The 2020-21 season looked like the ‘one’, but Kawhi sustained a knee injury in Game 4 and it was ‘bye-bye championship’. Fast forward to this season, and so far, the ‘City of Angels’ seems to have a guardian angel watching over them. Kawhi Leonard hasn’t been hit too badly by an injury bug. At least not to the extent he usually is affected.

Paul George too has been relatively healthy. Although James Harden‘s arrival had caused initial confusion, the Clippers Big 4 are now a serious squad. So, in the long run, the Clippers haven’t done too badly for themselves.

On to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The OKC is looking pretty snug with Shai at the helm

With Paul George moving to LA and Russell Westbrook traded to Houston, the Thunder started a rebuild. This time, they went ahead with a young core. And looking at Oklahoma now, no one would complain. They are currently the second seed in the Western Conference with a 27-13 record.

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As George mentions above, Shai is indeed “special.” His rookie season saw SGA averaging 10.8 points per game. As the years passed, his game has only become better. Looking at his stats, Gilgeous-Alexander is consistently averaging 30-plus points over two seasons (2022-23 and 2023-24). Not even Paul George has accomplished that in any season of his career.

There is no doubt that the OKC will continue to grow as Shai grows. And the Clippers are now looking as best as they ever did. Like PG said, both sides won – in one way or another. Do you agree with Paul? Let us know your thoughts on PG’s statement below!

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