A Win-Win Trade For Two Teams Involving Paul George

The new NBA and the new CBA agreements have caused controversy among several teams in the league. One of the biggest and most recent controversies is the Los Angeles Clippers being consistently over the cap due to three large contracts of three star players. Kawhi Leonard re-signed during the season and the Clippers had to deal with Paul George and James Harden as free agents. 

Many Clipper fans felt betrayed by George, mostly by his words and showing a lack of commitment. The least he could do for them is to enact a sign-and-trade with a few teams, including the Golden State Warriors who are incredibly interested. After a deal couldn't be worked out, George became a free agent. He and both teams left a potential win-win situation on the table. 

A Win-Win Trade For Two Teams Involving Paul George

What The Trade Packages Included

While the specifics of the trade are questionable, it is believed that the Warriors were offering veteran point guard Chris Paul, small forward Andrew Wiggins, and forward Moses Moody along with a couple of first-round picks. The stalemate included forward Jonathan Kuminga, a rising star in the league. It is not confirmed that the Warriors didn't fully offer a good enough package or if the Clippers didn't want to trade George to a rival. It could’ve been that George flat-out refused to go to Golden State. This deal would have made both teams happy and given George everything he needed, including a chance to win. 

The Clippers would’ve been happy with the package of several key players. Most of all, the trade would’ve provided Los Angeles the chance to rebuild in the draft after trading three first-round picks and two second-round picks in the trade for George from the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019. This trade also got Leonard to Los Angeles. The Clippers don’t have any more picks until the 2030 NBA draft. These picks were crucial for Los Angeles to recover when Kawhi Leonard retires. One of the biggest aspects of the potential Warriors' trade was for the Clippers to have two young stars in Wiggins and Kuminga. Those two players along with Terrance Mann, Ivica Zubac, and potentially Kevin Porter Jr. would have made the Clippers a tough team to face in the future. The Clippers would have been an instant championship contender with Leonard Harden and all the young players as key role players going into the upcoming season. 

For the Warriors, George would have been the perfect compliment to play beside Steph Curry and Draymond Green after the Klay Thompson departure. The end of the Splash Brothers era concluded with the Warriors believing that Thompson couldn’t contribute to a championship-level team. George would have made a solid number two, or three depending on Green’s input. Throughout George's career, he says he wanted to be a star. Playing for the Clippers the past four years, however, it became clear that George doesn’t want to be the top player and prefers to be the number two or three to a superstar team. This trade would have given him that role and ultimately would have made him incapable of receiving criticism if the new Warriors team had failed.

All Sides Are Better Moving Forward 

Just one week after a busy NBA free agency, it could be said that the Clippers, Warriors, and George are happy with the outcome. George signed his max four-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. He didn’t want to be the number one option for a team, but he wanted the money of one. Now he gets it with teammates center Joel Emiid and guard Tyrese Maxey. The Warriors were able to find Thompson's replacement, Buddy Hield, through a cheap trade. He could be the star of the Warriors in the future whenever Steph and Draymond leave. 

The Clippers were able to get under the second apron, a limitation of the luxury tax threshold, while also picking up key free agents along the way. There's more diversity and more depth to this Clippers team now. They have re-signed Harden to a two-year team-friendly deal, brought in reliable power forwards Nicolas Batum and Derick Jones Jr., a young potential star with a questionable past in Kevin Porter Jr, and they had the availability to sign several of their young players in the future.