Regret Over Kawhi Leonard’s Paul George Trade Request Echoes NBA World After OKC’s Game 1 Victory Over Mavs

The NBA world turns back the clock, as the OKC Thunder draws first blood. In yet another exciting playoff series between the OKC and Mavericks, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander anchored his young guns for a blowout win. After the game, many looked back at the painful decision that Kawhi Leonard made involving Paul George before his massive trade to the Clippers, in retrospect. Some heavy-heartedly agreed that ”you still make that trade 10/10 times”, while some weren’t too fond of the lingering memory.

After winning the 2019 NBA Finals for the Toronto Raptors, Kawhi Leonard had the option to start a dream partnership. He picked Paul George from the OKC and moved to the Clippers. As collateral damage to the blockbuster trade, the Clippers had to give away Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to the Thunder right after his rookie season. While Shai didn’t make it to the headlines back then, tonight, he did, as fans flooded in with opinions.

The 2019 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard looked determined to start a dynasty with Paul George. The team on paper looked like the best in the league. However, they couldn’t do much wonder, as we all ponder five years since their union. The deepest they have reached in the postseason was the Conference Finals in 2021, which they lost 4-2 in the absence of Leonard.

The duo has constantly suffered from injuries throughout their partnership. In the last five years, they have managed to win only three playoff series. Especially in this season, the duo had additional support from James Harden and Russell Westbrook. Still, they couldn’t get past round 1.

On the other hand, the OKC Thunder developed into an unstoppable force in these 5 years. They’ve become the 2nd youngest team to win a playoff series and game in round 2 in the history of the league. Notably, they made a massive jump from being an outlier to a top seed! This feat even fetched their coach Mark Daigneault to win the Coach of the Year Award. Now that we have the whole story in perspective, what are the fans saying?

Fans look back at the “domino effect” caused by the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George union trade

Even though Kawhi Leonard was a reigning Finals MVP at that time, a fan considered it an audacious trade. They even compared the trade to 33-year-old LeBron James‘ choice to leave the big decision of retirement to his kids. LBJ during the 2017-18 season, said, “I’ve got a 10-year-old boy (Bryce), a 3-year-old girl (Zhuri). Daddy side kicks in sometimes. That will be a deciding factor in how long I want to play.”

The fan pointed out the expenses that went in the drain for the trade, showing a sense of disagreement with what happened, saying, “At the very worst his value goes up to where they don’t give 5 FRPs and 2 swaps.”

Deeming the entire Kawhi-George scenario as the “domino effect”, he reminisced about how the Clippers weren’t even sure he was available but still presented the option to the Klaw.

On paper, this was a worthy signing. PG is one of the best two-way stars in the league, along with being an LA native.

Another fan was happy that Kawhi made that trade happen because OKC seemed to have gotten the better side of the deal. The fan wrote, “OKC is the youngest team in NBA history to win a game in the 2nd round…This wouldn’t have happened if Kawhi didn’t make the Clippers trade SGA.” 

While most of the fans took shots at the 2x NBA Champion. A fan put forward an important question. They wrote, “Wondering what could have been if Kawhi didn’t insist on having PG as running mate with SGA going to OKC… would he still have blossomed to what he is right now?”. Well, right now SGA is being considered for award debates, as he’s averaging a major 30 ppg. this season itself! His shooting metrics are off the charts too at 53.5%!

Did the young blood surrounding SGA bring out the best in him, or did he have it in him all this time?

This individual really wanted to rub it in Kawhi Leonard’s face. Despite maintaining fitness levels and crossing the 60-game mark after a long time, the Klaw broke down at the wrong time with a knee injury. Which lead to him missing a substantial chunk of playoffs. He played two post-season games and scored a mere 24 points in total!

It is clear that the fans cannot stop thinking about Kawhi’s move. If at all, SGA goes on to win the title, the 2019 trade would popularly be deemed his worst decision. Will the young gunned OC go on to become the youngest team to ever win the championship? Let us know in the comments.