Paul George Leaves LA Clippers: What Does it Mean for the OKC Thunder?

The star forward has found a new home this offseason with the Philadelphia 76ers, which makes the LA Clippers picks the Oklahoma City Thunder own even more desirable going forward.

Jan 16, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; LA Clippers forward Paul George (13) celebrates against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Unless you were up in the middle of the night, the news of Paul George singing with the Philadelphia 76ers likely started your morning. 

It was a move that the rest of the NBA was eagerly anticipating. The 34-year-old has been the one player dictating much of the free agent market, as many waited on his decision before they themselves could sign. Now the wait is over, and the LA Clippers have lost the star forward they traded for five years ago.

Of course, the Oklahoma City Thunder were the team that the Clippers acquired George from in the first place. And this news only makes the trade a little sweeter than it already was.

When Oklahoma City was forced to trade George after the 2018-19 season, along with former MVP Russell Westbrook, the first seeds of what its roster looks like now were planted. It acquired its franchise player in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and selected Jalen Williams with one of the many draft picks it received a couple of seasons later, two driving forces behind its development back into championship contenders. That's an exceptional return on its own, but the Thunder still hasn't reaped all of the benefits of the trade.

Oklahoma City owns a first-round pick swap with LA in the 2025 draft, an unprotected first round pick in 2026 and another pick swap in 2027 it received through the James Harden trade that brought him to the Clippers. They ideally would have continued to contend for championships at that point, but the loss of George puts that into question.

Kawhi Leonard and Harden will remain in LA for next season, so it'll likely be eyeing the playoffs once again. Fixing the hole that George left won't be easy though, especially with its limited cap flexibility, and it staying as a legitimate threat seems unrealistic at this point.

Both Leonard and Harden are getting up there in age — along with George — so the timeline was getting short regardless. We've seen the durability of Leonard being put into question for the past several years, and the knee injury that kept him out for most of the Clippers' first round loss to the Dallas Mavericks doesn't give any optimism for it not being a problem moving forward. If things start to go on a downward trajectory, who's to say either player will stay put in a year?

LA may want to avoid falling to the bottom of the Western Conference while the Thunder own its picks, but it may be an unavoidable consequence of putting its trio together in the first place. Its window has pretty much been shattered, and there isn't going to be an easy way to repair it.

Oklahoma City looks at this situation with excitement. A formidable playoff opponent is getting worse and it can reap the benefits of that not just on the court, but in building its roster to be even better. The 2026 pick is definitely something to keep its eye on, whether it be to keep it and hope for a top pick or use it for a big trade in the next couple of years.

George's decision certainly makes the lives of Eastern Conference teams worse, forming an elite trio alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Philadelphia will be a legitimate threat in the playoffs, and if the Thunder were able to reach the Finals, a matchup between the two wouldn't be an outlandish possibility.

That being said, Oklahoma City will prefer this situation 10 times out of 10. Looking back now, it won the George trade by a considerable margin, and the Clippers are only going to make that ring true even more if it can't sustain being a playoff team. Trading him and Westbrook five years ago may have stung in the moment, but time has only proved that it was the best thing that could've happened for the franchise in the long run.

The Thunder has plenty to thank George for.

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