It was no secret that the Los Angeles Clippers were among the favorites to land the reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. Not only did they manage to sign the Leonard away from the defending champion Toronto Raptors, but they also acquired one of the best players in the league today along the way. Along with Leonard, the Clippers completed a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder to get MVP-candidate Paul George in exchange for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, four unprotected first-round picks (The Clippers' 2022, 2024, and 2026 picks and the Miami Heat's 2021 pick), the Clippers lottery protected 2023 first-round pick, and the right to swap picks with the Clippers in 2023 and 2025.
Aside from the Brooklyn Nets, it's hard to argue that any team has had a bigger offseason than the Los Angeles Clippers after these huge moves. First off, they're adding Kawhi Leonard on a 4-year, $140.79 million deal. As I said, Leonard is coming off a single season with the Raptors where he led the team to their first NBA championship, averaging a career-high 26.6 points, a career-high 7.3 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 50% from the field and 37% from three-point range. Additionally, he was selected to the all-star game, the All-NBA 2nd team, the All-Defensive 2nd team, and was named Finals MVP (the second of his career) this past season. Leonard is also coming off a fantastic playoff run where he averaged 30.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 1.7 steals while shooting 49% from the field and 38% from three-point range. One of the best players in the league, Leonard was one of the most highly coveted free agents heading into this free agency period. The fact that Clippers are adding him to a team that exceeded expectations this past season is absolutely huge.
What makes the offseason an even better outcome is the acquisition of Paul George. Even though they had to pay a pretty hefty price (including pretty much their entire future) to obtain him, it's hard to argue that a player the caliber of George isn't worth it. George is coming off the best season of his career, putting up career-highs in points (28), rebounds (8.2), assists (4.1), and steals (2.2) per game, shooting 44% from the field and 39% from three-point range, and was an MVP-candidate. Additionally, George was selected to the all-star game, the All-NBA 1st team, and the All-Defensive 1st team, and led the league in steals per game. With three-years left on his contract, the Clippers have George for the foreseeable future, and along with Leonard, the Clippers look to be huge threats for the next few years.
While the Thunder did lose one of the best players in the league through this trade, they did not walk away empty-handed, not by a long shot. Danilo Gallinari is coming off the best season of his career, putting up career-high averages of 19.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting 46% from the field and 43% from three-point range. Additionally, Gallinari is on a big expiring contract, which could be huge heading into the summer of 2020. Additionally, the addition of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a solid acquisition. Coming off a rookie season where he averaged 10.8 points, 3.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 48% from the field and 37% from three-point range, Gilgeous-Alexander was also named to the All-Rookie 2nd team as the starter for the Clippers this past season. As for how well he'll fit in with a roster that already has Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schroder is uncertain, but adding Gilgeous-Alexander to the roster looks like a good move for the future.
The big get from this trade, however, are all the draft picks they got. The Thunder will have at least five extra first-round picks through 2026, and while both the Clippers and Heat will likely both be making the playoffs following this offseason, having those picks can be beneficial for trades or to build a strong, young roster. There's no perfect strategy for drafting, meaning that they have the potential to land a talented young player with these potentially late picks. Even as recent as 2017, the Rookie of the Year winner was Malcolm Brogdon, who was selected with the 36th pick. There is talent late in the draft, it just takes a good scout to find it. And if the Clippers completely collapse within the next seven years, those picks would be even more valuable. It's hard to pick who they'd potentially before most people in the 2021 class have even committed to schools yet, with so many future picks, it's hard to say that getting them is worth nothing.
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