Former Clippers Guard Speaks on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's Trade to Thunder

The former Los Angeles Clippers guard opens up about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's trade to Oklahoma City for Paul George.

Over four years ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder sent Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers in a trade that also helped the Clippers land Kawhi Leonard in free agency.

For the Thunder, this kicked off the start of a rebuild. However, they had secured their franchise talent in the trade as they landed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on top of the plethora of draft picks and Danilo Gallinari.

Gilgeous-Alexander was heading into a situation where he could combine his mindset and work ethic with an opportunity to grow and be "the guy" on a team. This has made the trade, in retrospect, look like a quite even trade, or even make the case for the Thunder to have "won" the trade.

Clippers fans have always been bummed to have had to give up Gilgeous-Alexander in the trade, though. They knew his potential and were fans of his game. Not only were the fans bummed, but so were the players at the time. 

Former Clippers guard Lou Williams opened up about Gilgeous-Alexander's departure on the Run It Back show.

“We were heartbroken when he got traded. Absolutely, we were crushed. Even though it was for Paul George," Williams said on the show. "We knew who PG was, but he had time and energy into his development.”

Throughout his time in Oklahoma City, Gilgeous-Alexander has been a mix of a fan favorite along with being a team favorite. He's been an incredible teammate throughout the year and has developed as a leader as he continues ramping up his play.

From what he showed as a rookie with the Clippers, foretelling his improvement would have been one thing, but predicting him to be a First Team All-NBA, All-Star at 25-years-old would have been crazy.

The Thunder has set itself up nicely through the rebuild, which began with Gilgeous-Alexander many years ago.

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