ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the LA Clippers have acquired All-NBA swingman Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
ESPN league sources report that All-Star Paul George is being traded by Oklahoma City to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for a record-breaking array of draft picks.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2019
Per Wojnarowski, free agent forward Kawhi Leonard had been recruiting George, who reportedly then requested a trade and will arrive in exchange for a “record-setting” package of draft picks and players:
ESPN league sources report that the Clippers are trading four unprotected first-round picks, one protected first-round pick, and two pick swaps to the Thunder. These picks will be sent to OKC alongside Gallinari and SGA.
Marc Stein of The New York Times later clarified that OKC’s picks broke down to the Clippers’ unprotected firsts in 2022, ’24 and ’26, along with Miami firsts in ’21 (unprotected; acquired in the Tobias Harris trade) and ’23 (protected 1-14; acquired in the reported four-team Jimmy Butler trade days ago) as well as pick swaps in ’23 and ’25.
George, a 29-year-old six-time All-Star, is highly respected as one of the most formidable two-way threats in the league. Coming off his first All-NBA First Team season, the 6-foot-9 forward had a career-best average of 28.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists, shooting 38.6% from the 3-point range (with 9.8 attempts per game) and 43.8% overall. Additionally, George was a finalist for the Kia Defensive Player of the Year award, marking his second time receiving All-Defensive First Team honor.
This comes on the heels of news that reigning Finals MVP Leonard reportedly intends to sign with the Clippers as a free agent.
According to Wojnarowski, Southern California natives Leonard (Los Angeles) and George (Palmdale) met earlier in the week. Leonard then “made it clear” to Clippers brass that he would sign if George was coming along.
Leonard led the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA championship with a staggering postseason run, reasserting his dominant position among the active player pantheon after an injury-plagued, nine-game 2017-18 season with San Antonio.
He will partner with George to aim for further championship contention in the presence of family and friends. Meanwhile, Oklahoma City faces the task of rebuilding after another significant departure. Gallinari, with a career-best average of 19.8 ppg and a shooting percentage of 43.3% from deep (46.3% overall), is a proficient shooter but has been plagued by injuries – managing to play more than 70 games only twice in 11 seasons. Gilgeous-Alexander made a strong impression, quickly securing his position as the starting point guard in an All-Rookie Second-Team campaign, after being the No. 11 overall pick by the Clippers in the draft.
The stockpile of draft picks offers several opportunities for improvement, and the team’s transformation could potentially include veteran Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that word of “the discontent of OKC’s two stars” — George and Westbrook — had begun to spread throughout the league. The Athletic’s Sam Amick added that Westbrook’s future with the Thunder “is certainly in question.”
