LACReceived
PPaul GeorgeSuperstar package · July 10, 2019
The Paul George trade—and the hidden cost of Kawhi
The Clippers acquired Paul George and, in practice, secured Kawhi Leonard's commitment. Oklahoma City acquired Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and extraordinary draft control.
See where this happened in the 2019 offseason →The original receipt
Every asset in the deal
The arrows show what each team received—not which direction a player left.
OKCReceived
PShai Gilgeous-AlexanderOklahoma City Thunder
PDanilo Gallinari
#2021 Miami first
#2022 Clippers first
#2023 Miami firstProtected; its obligation was later amended.
#2024 Clippers first
#2026 Clippers first
S2023 Clippers swap rights
S2025 Clippers swap rights
Why it happened
The bet each side made
Los Angeles treated the package as the price of two stars, not one. Oklahoma City used that leverage to begin the league's deepest rebuild.
Why history remembers it
Shai became an MVP-level centerpiece, while Jalen Williams arrived through one of the Clippers picks. The deal remains the clearest example of a trade whose true price included a free-agent partner.
The family tree
Where the picks and rights went
Selections, swaps and later trades are traced separately so a downstream player is not mistaken for a direct one-for-one return.
- 01
2021 Miami first · selected
Tre Mann · No. 18
Oklahoma City made the selection, then later moved Mann in the Gordon Hayward trade.
- 02
2022 Clippers first · selected
Jalen Williams · No. 12 →The pick became a core member of Oklahoma City's contender.
- 03
2023 Miami obligation · modified
Protection and later amendment
The original protected obligation did not simply become one 2023 player; later transactions changed its path.
- 04
2024 Clippers first · selected
Nikola Topić · No. 12 →Oklahoma City used the selection on the Serbian guard.
- 05
2023 and 2025 swaps · modified
No direct selection from the original swap
A swap only creates value when exercised; Oklahoma City's own position and later pick management affected the final result.
- 06
2026 Clippers first · traded
Routed through Oklahoma City's larger pick pool
Later trades changed the downstream ownership path, so it should not be credited as a simple one-step selection.
What changed
The consequences
- The Clippers paired George with Kawhi Leonard.
- Oklahoma City accelerated its rebuild around Gilgeous-Alexander.
- The draft assets remained useful both as selections and as trade currency.
Principal profiles