According to former Clippers coach Doc Rivers, he tried to sway Kawhi Leonard against giving up on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander back in 2019. Before he officially joined the Clippers, he had a chance to become teammates with the young guard and Rivers knew first-hand how valuable he would become in a few years.
“I even brought it up to Kawhi: ‘Are you sure? I think Shai’s going to be an amazing player’,” said Doc. “It may take a year or two, but I think you’re underestimating how good Shai’s going to be.’ I didn’t argue the decision or anything, but I brought it up. I just thought, is there any way we can do this deal without putting Shai in it?”
The Clippers knew what they had to do in order to bring Kawhi Leonard to the franchise: trade for Paul George and set up a place where he could compete for years to come. At the time, Kawhi wasn’t willing to take a risk on an unproven young player — he wanted Paul George, who was coming off an MVP-caliber season with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In a matter of hours, the Clippers were able to secure a trade for Paul George and they haven’t expressed an ounce of regret since. This season, behind the play of Kawhi and Paul, the team is on track to have their best stretch yet and they look more dangerous than ever heading into the postseason. Besides questions about their health, the Clippers are among the safest bets in the West right now.
But when you look at what Shai is doing with the Thunder right now, it’s hard not to think that the Clippers made a big mistake. At just 25 years old, Gilgeous-Alexander is already one of the best players in the game and his trajectory looks to be on the rise.
The Clippers Will Regret Trading Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
While the trade was dubbed as a win-win for both sides at the time, it hasn’t aged well for the Clippers. Despite the success of Kawhi and Paul George, they still haven’t made the NBA Finals, and there are still questions about if they can close the deal in the postseason. In their latest attempt, the Clippers only went as far as the first round before they were sent home in disgrace.
With James Harden this time around, the thinking is that the Clippers finally have the piece they need to compete for a title and they are looking pretty good so far. But with Kawhi Leonard turning 33 in June, the window is almost closed for this Clippers team, and if they don’t win a title soon then it could be some time before they’re in a position to do so again.
Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has taken the Thunder steps ahead of their rebuild. Ranked 2nd in the West, just one game behind the Timberwolves, the Thunder are on fire right now and the 25-year-old Canadian is leading the way for them with averages of 31.1 points, 6.5 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game on 54.6% shooting.
Doc Rivers allegedly knew from the beginning how special this kid would be, and one could only imagine how he felt as the Clippers traded him away. For that reason alone, it’s imperative that the Clippers win at least one championship in the Kawhi Leonard era, to justify all the things they gave up to make it happen all those years ago.
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