By: VINCENT MENDOZA / STAFF WRITER
On July 6, 2019, 1:55 am EST, former ESPN Senior NBA Insider Adrian Wojnaroski sent out one of his most infamous “Woj bombs” that sent shockwaves throughout the NBA community.
“Oklahoma City is trading All-Star Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers for a record-setting collection of draft choices, league sources tell ESPN”.
The collection of draft choices and other assets comprised of:
- Shai-Gilgeous Alexander
- Danilo Gallinari
- 2021 first-round pick (became Tre Mann)
- 2022 first-round pick (became Jalen Williams)
- 2023 first-round pick (became Jaime Jaquez Jr.)
- 2023 first-round pick swap
- 2024 first-round draft pick (became Dillon Jones)
- 2025 first-round pick swap
- 2026 first-round pick
This was not only a trade to acquire Paul George but to allow for the signing of Kawhi Leonard in free agency, which is why the Clippers gave up so much. At the time, most analysts and media members viewed this as a win-win for both organizations, especially for Los Angeles as the dynamic two-way wings were both coming off the best seasons of their careers
In the 2018-19 regular season, George averaged 28.0 ppg , 8.2 rpg , 4.1 apg and 2.2 spg, all of which were career highs. He finished third in both MVP and DPOY voting and was awarded with All-Star and All-NBA first team honors.
On the flip side, Leonard led the Raptors to their first championship in franchise history, taking down the Golden State Warriors who were coming off back-to-back championships, securing his second ring and Finals MVP.
Leonard and George were brought in to bring the Clippers organization something they were never able to accomplish: an NBA championship. However, since the pair came to Hollywood, the Clippers reached just one Western Conference Finals in 2021 in which Leonard was absent due to injury, one semi-finals appearance in the 2020 bubble where they blew a 3-1 lead to the red hot Denver Nuggets and two first round losses in the past two years.
Between the combination of injuries from both two-way wings, Los Angeles achieved next to nothing after such a huge investment.
This past offseason, Paul George, the player they traded their entire future for, walked in free agency, meaning they traded their entire future away for next to nothing. To make matters worse, The Athletic’s former head NBA Insider Shams Charania (who has since joined ESPN) reported that Leonard will undergo another procedure on his knee that will most likely keep him sidelined for the start of the 2024-2025 season. Last January, the Clippers extended Leonard to a three-year, $153M deal that will keep him on the roster through the 2027-2028 season. This situation would be any team’s worst nightmare but this is only the beginning for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Dating back to 2021, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested roughly $2B into the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, just a five minute drive from SoFi Stadium where the Los Angeles Ram and Chargers play. This new stadium features an outdoor plaza with a basketball court, two bars and a restaurant and that’s before entering the Dome. The inside of the Intuit Dome beholds a 40,000-square-foot, 360, double sided Halo Board allowing fans from any seat to get a view of the statistics, shot charts and fan-engaging games that will be displayed.
In addition to the outdoor basketball court and 360, each seat has a USB port to charge your phone, a built-in controller to play games on the halo and a decibel meter that gauges the movement and sound of each individual fan. The loudest and rowdiest will be rewarded with discounts on food and merch – gamification at its finest.
With that being said, how will Ballmer and the Clippers sell tickets with George gone and Leonard sidelined? Along with that, how will this depleted roster compete in a stacked Western Conference?
The Clippers do not have a bad roster by any means, featuring solid contributors such as former Mavericks F Derrick Jones Jr, C Ivica Zubac, guards Bones Hyland and Norman Powell and former superstar James Harden who LA traded for earlier last season, who can still produce at an All-Star level.
Despite this, the lack of star power on this roster heading into the season will heavily hinder their success, especially competing against star-studded teams like the Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder. To add insult to injury, the Clippers do not own any of their draft picks until the year 2030, making possible future trades much more difficult.
Looking back at the trade the Clippers made to acquire Paul George in 2019, they clearly did not get the return they were hoping for, that being at least one NBA Championship. Instead, all they have to show for this historic move is one Western Conference Finals appearance – their first in franchise history. On the other hand, the Oklahoma City Thunder are flourishing.
The young guard the Clippers traded away in Shai-Gilgeous Alexander has turned into a top 10 player in league, accumulating two All-Star appearances, two All-NBA First Team appearances and two top-five finishes in MVP voting the past two seasons while leading the Thunder to the best record in the Western Conference and a semi-finals appearance last season. Alongside the star guard, the Thunder have one of, if not the most well-rounded roster in the entire league, featuring G Alex Caruso, F/C Chet Holmgren, F/G Jalen Williams, C Isaiah Hartenstein and many other solid role players. Oklahoma City also holds an immense amount of draft picks to use to their disposal they can use to propel themselves even further into championship contention.
As of right now, Steve Ballmer and the Los Angeles Clippers are in one of the worst situations in the entire NBA. They don’t own any draft capital for the next five years, their franchise cornerstone will miss the start of this season, all while trying to sell out games to make back the billions of dollars Ballmer invested into the Intuit Dome.
The Clippers’ season isn’t completely scrapped but it is very unlikely they will be able to compete for an NBA Championship.
Comments