A Deep Dive Into Everything the Clippers Lost for Seven Years of Kawhi Leonard

The Kawhi Leonard era in Inglewood is over. But his impact will be felt for years to come within Clippers headquarters—in all the worst ways.

Back in 2019, the Clippers were looking to usher in a new era after parting ways with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin in the two years prior. They wanted to sign Leonard, who was coming off an NBA title with the Raptors.

Leonard, who was also being heavily pursued by the Raptors and Lakers, reportedly wouldn’t sign with the Clippers unless they traded for Paul George. Los Angeles obliged, sending a record-setting package back to Oklahoma City: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, four unprotected first-round picks, a protected first-round pick and two first-round pick swaps.

It was quite the haul for OKC. And the Leonard-George pairing did not live up to it. Over four seasons of Leonard and George sharing the floor (Leonard missed the 2021-22 campaign after tearing his ACL), the Clippers won a total of three playoff series and advanced to the Western Conference finals once. Leonard reached the NBA’s new minimum for award eligibility (65 games played or more) just twice in seven years in Los Angeles.

And now, as Leonard moves on to Toronto (assuming the Clippers-Raptors trade goes through), Los Angeles is left with a mess. Earlier this week, the NBA announced hefty penalties headed the Clippers’ way after the league found them guilty of salary cap circumvention in a case involving Leonard. The result: A loss of five future first-round picks and a bevy of fines and suspensions in the front office. Leonard, meanwhile, escaped town with a $700,000 fine.

NEXT: We Simulated the 2026-27 Season 100 Times on NBA 2K27. Here Are the Results.

Between the price of the George trade to get Leonard to Los Angeles and the costly penalties that await them down the road, the Clippers will be hurting for a long time. Here’s a detailed look at everything Los Angeles gave up for seven disappointing years with Leonard, and how it all looks now:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

The Paul George trade will go down as one of the worst in NBA history. It built the Thunder into the perennial Western Conference power they are today. For the Clippers, it aged like milk.

Los Angeles sent Gilgeous-Alexander on his way to Oklahoma City in the deal. At the time, SGA was coming off a solid-but-not-exceptional rookie season in which he averaged 10.8 points and 3.3 assists per game. He finished sixth in Rookie of the Year voting. In his first season with the Thunder, SGA found his footing as a scorer and logged 19.0 points per contest. Not long after that, Gilgeous-Alexander developed into one of the best players in basketball, winning back-to-back MVPs in 2024-25 and 2025-26 and, of course, Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year.

It can’t be fun for Clippers fans to watch where SGA has taken his career. For a year, he was theirs.

What the Thunder did with SGA: Developed him into an NBA superstar and face of the franchise.

Danilo Gallinari

Gallinari spent two seasons with the Clippers before getting traded to OKC. He spent just one year with the Thunder in 2019-20 and was a solid contributor, scoring 18.7 points per game as OKC rolled to a fifth-place finish in the West under coach Billy Donovan. Gallinari bounced around the NBA for a few years after leaving the Thunder and announced his retirement last December.

What the Thunder did with Gallinari: In November 2020, the Thunder traded Gallinari to the Hawks for a conditional 2025 second-round pick. Oklahoma City used that ’25 pick to select Brooks Barnhizer, a guard out of Northwestern who averaged 1.7 points in 8.7 minutes per game as a rookie last season.

No. 17 pick in 2021 NBA draft: Tre Mann

The Clippers initially acquired this pick from the Heat in the 2019 Tobias Harris deal. Once it was in Oklahoma City’s hands, the Thunder selected guard Tre Mann out of Florida. Mann spent two full seasons in OKC and registered 8.5 points per game on 39.7% shooting from the field.

What the Thunder did with Mann: OKC flipped Mann to Charlotte as part of the Gordon Hayward trade in 2024. Hayward served as a needed veteran on Oklahoma City’s 2024 playoff team that lost to the Mavs in the Western Conference semifinals.

No. 12 pick in 2022 NBA draft: Jalen Williams

As if losing SGA didn’t sting the Clippers enough.

The first of the Clippers’ own first-round picks traded to the Thunder landed at No. 12 in the 2022 draft, which Oklahoma City wisely used to draft Jalen Williams. “J-Dub,” coming out of Santa Clara, finished second in 2023 Rookie of the Year voting behind Paolo Banchero. Two years later, he was named an All-Star and helped the Thunder win their second championship in franchise history.

What the Thunder did with Williams: Developed him into a key piece of their 2025 championship team. In July 2025, Williams signed a five-year rookie max contract extension worth up to $287 million.

Protected first-round pick in 2023 NBA draft (became Thomas Sorber)

This pick was initially set to be a protected 2023 first-rounder acquired by Los Angeles in the Heat’s four-team Jimmy Butler trade in 2019.

What the Thunder did with this pick: Oklahoma City agreed to switch it to a protected ’25 first-round pick to free up a few tradable future picks for Miami. Long story short, the Thunder eventually used it to draft Georgetown center Thomas Sorber with the No. 15 pick in 2025.

Sorber tore his ACL last September and missed the entire 2025-26 season. He’ll likely make his NBA debut later this fall.

NEXT: One Reason to Be Excited About Each NBA Team This Season

Right to swap 2023 first-round picks

The Thunder did not execute the pick swap after finishing the 2022-23 season with a worse record than Los Angeles.

What the Thunder did with this pick: Nothing.

Unprotected first-round pick in 2024 NBA draft

Dillon Jones has been traded four times and has won two NBA championships (Thunder, Knicks) over his young career. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

All right, this gets a bit wild so hang on for dear life.

What the Thunder did with this pick: The Clippers’ unprotected first-round pick from the George trade ended up at No. 26. The Thunder traded it to Dallas in exchange for a 2028 first-round pick swap. Then, it went to Washington in the Daniel Gafford deal. Then, the Wizards drafted Dillon Jones and traded him to the Knicks, and then Jones was traded to Oklahoma City in exchange for five future second-round draft picks. Does your head hurt yet? Jones isn’t technically a part of the George deal, but it’s close enough. He spent one year with OKC and then was flipped back to the Wizards for Colby Jones.

Right to swap 2025 first-round picks

While the Clippers were bounced in the first round of the 2025 playoffs by the Nuggets, the Thunder went on to win it all. OKC then exercised their 2025 pick swap with the Clippers, slotting the defending champs at No. 24 in the draft order.

What the Thunder did with this pick: On draft night, Oklahoma City sent the No. 24 pick to the Kings in exchange for San Antonio’s 2027 first-round pick, which is top-16 protected. The Kings took Nique Clifford with that pick.

No. 12 pick in 2026 NBA draft: Aday Mara

Aday Mara and Adam Silver — The Thunder selected Mara with the No. 12 pick in the 2026 draft. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Clippers’ final unprotected first-rounder from the George blockbuster trade ended up at No. 12 in the 2026 draft.

What the Thunder did with this pick: Believe it or not, Sam Presti stayed put in the draft and selected Aday Mara, a 7’3” center who played two years of college hoops at UCLA and won a national title with Michigan in 2026. Mara will provide the Thunder with depth in the frontcourt alongside Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams as a rookie this season.

So, in summary …

These assets remain with Oklahoma City from the Paul George trade:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, two-time NBA MVP
Jalen Williams, one-time NBA All-Star
Thomas Sorber
Aday Mara
Brooks Barnhizer
The Spurs’ 2027 first-round pick (top-16 protected)
Rights to 2028 first-round pick swap with Mavs

Not a bad return for OKC.

Unfortunately for Clippers fans, we’re just getting started. Here’s a closer look at everything Los Angeles is set to lose down the road from the Leonard probe:

2029 first-round draft pick

Over the next two drafts (2027 and ’28), the Clippers currently have just one first-round pick—a 2027 first-rounder that will end up being the second-most favorable pick between Los Angeles, Oklahoma City and Toronto.

The Clippers own two first-round picks in 2029, the year the NBA’s penalties for the violation of cap circumvention rules begin. The first is their own, which Philadelphia has rights to swap if it falls outside the top three. The pick that reportedly will be forfeited by the Clippers is the Pacers’ unprotected first-round pick that Los Angeles acquired in the Ivica Zubac deal.

2030 first-round draft pick

The Clippers will be stripped of their own first-round pick in 2030. They don’t have any other first-round picks this year.

2031 first-round draft pick

The Clippers have two first-rounders in 2031—their own and the Raptors’ pick that was acquired in the Kawhi Leonard deal (which has yet to become official). One of these will be taken away.

2032 first-round draft pick

The Clippers only have possession of their own first-round pick in 2032. It will be forfeited.

2033 first-round draft pick

Just like the 2031 draft, the Clippers have their own pick as well as the Raptors’ first-round pick from the Leonard trade. One of these will be forfeited.

When you tally it all up …

Who doesn’t love a nice and organized bullet-point list of franchise-altering mistakes? In exchange for three playoff series wins over seven years with Leonard, the Clippers gave up:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Danilo Gallinari
2021 first-round pick (from Heat)
2022 first-round pick
2023 first-round pick (from Heat)
2023 first-round pick swap
2024 first-round pick
2025 first-round pick swap
2026 first-round pick
2029 first-round pick
2030 first-round pick
2031 first-round pick
2032 first-round pick
2033 first-round pick

Yeesh. It’s going to be a long, long road back to contention in Inglewood.

PODCAST 🎧: Listen to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.

Add us as a preferred source on Google