With both George and Russell Westbrook no longer on the roster and no splashy replacements, the Clippers may not be very good this year. Bad seasons happen, of course, but there is another reason why that is especially notable.
From previous trades, the Thunder are owed whichever pick is a better one between the Rockets and the Clippers. It has only become more probable that Houston outperforms L.A. this season.
If the Clippers miss the postseason in a competitive Western Conference and their pick is in the lottery, the ping pong balls could bounce in any number of ways.
The worst case scenario for the Clippers is that the pick lands at No. 1 overall and they would have traded the rights away to Oklahoma City.
This comes after the organization already traded Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and various other tremendously valuable draft capital to the Thunder to land George, who is no longer on the roster.
If that total also now includes the next No. 1 pick, which is likely going to become Cooper Flagg in the 2025 NBA Draft, it would be unprecedentedly unfortunate for this franchise.
That would add a wildly impactful player to a Thunder team that is already projected to win the Western Conference this season, and is only young and getting better.
While many have focused on the departures of Paul George and Russell Westbrook, the Clippers have quietly added key defensive pieces in Derrick Jones Jr., Nicolas Batum, and Kris Dunn. These additions, while not as flashy, could make the team better …
While many have focused on the departures of Paul George and Russell Westbrook, the Clippers have quietly added key defensive pieces in Derrick Jones Jr., Nicolas Batum, and Kris Dunn. These additions, while not as flashy, could make the team better overall, as they focus on balance and fit rather than pure talent.
With Kawhi Leonard and James Harden anchoring the offense, the Clippers still have two elite scoring options. What’s different now is that they’ll be surrounded by versatile, defense-minded role players who complement their skill sets. The team may be less star-studded than last year, but the pieces could fit better, particularly under head coach Tyronn Lue’s nine-man rotation system, which emphasizes staggering stars and maximizing player roles.
Leonard and Harden will continue to lead the way, but with players like Jones stepping into a starting role and Dunn filling the backup point guard position, the Clippers have a deeper, more defensively sound team. Additionally, the team’s flexibility with Harden’s two-year deal ensures they remain competitive now while maintaining future cap room.
Kawhi Leonard really has a way with words. And by that I mean he seems to say exactly what’s on his mind when answering questions — including if he doesn’t have thoughts on what he’s being asked.
Leonard doesn’t really “play the game.” He’s an A-to-B kind of person. He delivers the most direct answers to questions. Nothing more. It’s become somewhat of a brand.
Sometimes that means reporters get nothing from Leonard. Sometimes it means he’s honest about things other players might lie about — like not knowing the league’s load management rules.
On Saturday, it meant admitting none of his new Los Angeles Clippers teammates have stood out during training camp.
Kawhi Leonard says that he has been watching the new guys in camp such as Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr., as well as observing everyone's progression, but adds "nobody stood out to me so far" pic.twitter.com/X6tMzFEqLS
I’m sure Leonard had no ill-intent behind that answer. It’s still early in camp and still time for guys to impress. But that doesn’t make his answer any less funny.
He started off so well by saying the new arrivals — including Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr. — were the players he’d been paying attention to. He could have left it at that. Volunteering that “nobody’s stood out to me so far” was so unnecessary and hilarious. But that’s Leonard for you.
DeMar DeRozan thinks Toronto would have won if he was never traded.
While promoting his new book Above the Noise, DeMar DeRozan spoke about the trade that sent him from the Toronto Raptors to the San Antonio Spurs.
DeRozan, who began his career playing for the Raptors, enjoyed tremendous success playing alongside Kyle Lowry in Toronto. But after multiple All-Star appearances and late appearances in the postseason, the front office opted to trade DeRozan in exchange for Kawhi Leonard before the 2018-19 season.
The Raptors went on to win the 2019 NBA Championship, which was their first in franchise history. But on ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith asked an interesting question.
Smith argued that at that time in Toronto’s franchise, the only team that the Raptors seemed to struggle against were LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers.
He wondered if the Raptors would have still won a title in 2019 if they still had DeRozan, not Leonard, as James left the Eastern Conference to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.
It seemed DeRozan agreed with the theory, stating the following:
“Never to discredit those guys. They won it. They deserve it. I finally had got to a point where I was happy for them. But for sure. I definitely feel like that. The only person we couldn’t beat was LeBron. That’s just what it was. I felt off the year we had before, we just needed one more piece to kind of push us over the top. That piece came to be LeBron going to the West and I didn’t get an opportunity to see what would have happened. But the upmost confident in myself, I have no doubt in my mind the same outcome would have happened.”
Good for DeRozan to have the confidence in himself to truly believe this.
He is right: The only team that stood in his way was the Cavaliers and with James in the Western Conference on the Lakers that season, this was finally DeRozan’s shot to win it all. Instead, however, it was Leonard who won NBA Finals MVP in 2019.
Of course, it may have been a lot tougher for the Raptors to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers (who were juggernaut that season as well) without Leonard playing.
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Chris Paul’s fit on the San Antonio Spurs was obvious the first time it was ever mentioned the team might be interested in acquiring his services this offseason. What wasn’t always obvious was how the Spurs fit Paul’s own personal timeline.
At 39 years old, the only thing missing from Paul’s 19-year career is an NBA championship. So, most people assumed being able to compete for a title would be high on his list of priorities when choosing his next team.
Maybe it was his experience with the Golden State Warriors last season — coming off the bench for the first time in his career — or maybe it was injuries limiting him to just 58 games, but Paul said during his introductory press conference news Tuesday, he just wanted an opportunity to play.
In this era of ring-chasing, it was refreshing to hear.
Chris Paul said playing time was more important to him than chasing a ring when he chose to join the Spurs.
“I love nothing more than the opportunity to play and contribute and hoop,” Paul said.
Surely, he could have take a minimum deal elsewhere — like the Los Angeles Lakers, who reportedly had interest — to join a team people might consider a more serious contender than the young Spurs. And there would have been absolutely nothing wrong with that. That’s what we ask of our athletes. To actually care about the same things us fans do, which is winning.
But Paul doesn’t want to win if it means riding the bench or doing the bare minimum. He’d rather be a significant contributor on a team with a promising future that may not be quite there yet (the Spurs are +15000 to win a championship at BetMGM). He’d rather help speed the progress of the potential next face of the NBA, Victor Wembanyama. He’d rather spend his time playing for another legend of the game, coach Gregg Popovich.
And I, for one, can’t wait to see what that trio does together.
“I come to hoop. I’m not a coach.”
Chris Paul on his role with the Spurs after coming off the bench in 40 of 58 games last season for the Warriors while averaging a career-low 26.4 minutes a night. pic.twitter.com/6ShQLvOOE0
Just because the Spurs might not be ready to compete for a championship doesn’t mean they can’t be better than anyone is expecting and push for the playoffs. Paul gives them a chance to do that if he has anything left in the tank. We saw him do it with the young Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019-20 and with the Phoenix Suns the following year.
For Paul, helping a young team overachieve seems to be more rewarding at this point in his career than doing the bare minimum on a team already stacked.
Kawhi Leonard out. Derrick White in.
(Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
Kawhi Leonard withdrew from Team USA for the Paris Olympics, it was announced Wednesday, and though the news was hardly surprising, it’s not exactly what anyone wanted to hear.
The concept of the country’s best players coming together to take on the world is always fun — even if many of them are past their primes now — and that doesn’t exist without Leonard. When healthy, he’s easily one of the best players in the world.
Regardless, health has always been a part of his story, and as a result he’ll be replaced on the team by Derrick White of the NBA champion Boston Celtics. And if that sounds like a significant downgrade, it is. But then again, anyone would be.
That doesn’t make White any less the right pick for this team. And FTW’s Bryan Kalbrosky has three reasons why: White has prior experience with Team USA, he was already in the player pool of potential options for this team and he has the right style of game to fit alongside his more accomplished teammates.
“Per dunksandthrees, the Boston guard finished 92nd percentile in Offensive Estimated Plus-Minues (oEPM) and 91st percentile in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus (dEPM) last season.
It was the fourth season in a row he ranked in the 90th percentile or better in overall EPM. Yet he has accomplished all this while maintaining a low usage rate, which suggests he is able play well within his role next to ball-dominant teammates.
This morning, Kawhi Leonard and Team USA agreed that he would opt out of the Paris Olympics to focus on his health for the upcoming NBA season. Check out the immediate reaction from social media to the news.
This morning, Kawhi Leonard and Team USA agreed that he would opt out of the Paris Olympics to focus on his health for the upcoming NBA season.
Check out the immediate reaction from social media to the news.
It is a major blow for Team USA to lose Leonard, a two-time NBA Finals MVP and two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Leonard, also a six-time NBA All-Star, was going to provide valuable impact on both sides of the ball during the Olympics.
However, even before training camp started, Leonard’s status was a question mark. During the 2024 NBA Finals, for example, Adrian Wojnarowski went on the record to say that there was already a frontrunner to replace him if he wasn’t ready to go (via ESPN):
“I’m told Derrick White looms as a real potential candidate for Team USA in the Summer Olympics if Kawhi Leonard is unable to successfully rehab back from that knee inflammation that kept him out of the back end of the playoffs. You have seen White’s two-way prowess on display throughout the season and then in the season.”
Once news broke that Leonard was officially out of the competition, The Athletic’s Shams Charania also reported that White was a “strong candidate” to replace him.
Celtics guard Derrick White will be replacing Kawhi Leonard with USA Basketball, a source told @andscape.
Less than an hour later, Andscape’s Marc J. Spears reported that the decision was official and that White would join the roster.
On first glance, White may not make sense as a one-to-one replacement for a player who is as accomplished as Leonard. White has never even made an All-Star team and is now going to play on one of the best basketball teams ever assembled.
But there are plenty of reasons why he is the correct guy for the job.
Already in the Pool
Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
There were several players who did not initially receive invitations for Team USA. Some of those omissions included big names like Trae Young, LaMelo Ball, Zion Williamson, and Tyrese Maxey, and more.
Those players were never going to receive the call that White did.
Some in the player pool but did not make the roster included past All-Stars such as Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Donovan Mitchell, Jaylen Brown, De’Aaron Fox, Brandon Ingram, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jarrett Allen.
Other names were Mikal Bridges, Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane, Scottie Barnes, Jalen Brunson, Alex Caruso, Aaron Gordon, Josh Hart, Tyler Herro, Chet Holmgren, Cam Johnson, Walker Kessler, Bobby Portis, Austin Reaves, Duncan Robinson, and White.
The Right Style
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Among the players in the player pool but not on the roster, Team USA would have wanted to find a defensive-first option to replace Leonard.
That eliminates offensive-oriented players such as Lillard, Paul, Harden, Irving, Fox, Brunson, Herro, and Robinson (among others as well). They also would likely want more of a perimeter defender which would cut names like Jackson, Allen, Banchero, Gordon, Holmgren, Kessler, and Portis.
That still leaves a few potential candidates, though not very many, and White stands out.
Per dunksandthrees, the Boston guard finished 92nd percentile in Offensive Estimated Plus-Minues (oEPM) and 91st percentile in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus (dEPM) last season.
It was the fourth season in a row he ranked in the 90th percentile or better in overall EPM. Yet he has accomplished all this while maintaining a low usage rate, which suggests he is able play well within his role next to ball-dominant teammates.
White know what it takes to win at the highest level, especially coming off a title with the Celtics last season.
He also has previous experience playing for Team USA as well. The guard was on the roster for the senior national team during the 2019 FIBA World Cup, helping earn a berth in the subsequent Summer Olympics as one of the best finishers from the Americas.
The head coach for the squad was Gregg Popovich and one of the assistants was Steve Kerr, who is currently the head coach for Team USA in 2024. He played alongside his future teammate Jayson Tatum, who projects as one of the lead contributors for the current roster as well.
On this day: Thunder ship Paul George to Clippers for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, draft picks.
On this day in 2019, the Oklahoma City Thunder shocked the sports world when they shipped Paul George to the LA Clippers for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and a rich supply of draft capital.
The deal was one of the largest volumes of draft picks in league history. Five years later, it’s proven to be the launching point of the Thunder’s quick ascension into a title window.
This Clippers threw the Thunder a life vest. They stared down the barrel of being cornered with a roster that had three straight first-round exits in the playoffs. They turned that around for a lucrative amount of draft picks in the 2020s.
The original package of draft picks included the Clippers’ first-round pick in 2022, 2024, 2026 and swap rights in 2023 and 2025. OKC also acquired the Heat’s first-round pick in 2021 and 2023 with protections.
Meanwhile, the Clippers landed George and Kawhi Leonard within minutes of each other. This provided them with one of the best duos in the league with championship aspirations from the get-go.
A couple of draft cycles remain, but the results have been fantastic for the Thunder. They added Jalen Williams with LA’s 2022 first-round pick. While Tre Mann didn’t work out with the Thunder, his traded salary helped them land Isaiah Hartenstein.
For the Clippers, this past week officially saw them wave the white flag of the massive gamble. George departed LA and signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.
In five seasons with the Clippers, his tenure peaked in 2021 when they reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.
But in total, it was an epic failure. LA only won three playoff series in five years. It hasn’t won a playoff series since 2021. Both George and Leonard have dealt with injuries to varying degrees.
It was a massive swing and miss by the Clippers to mortgage their future. The Thunder have reaped the benefits as two of their three best players were directly acquired from LA’s work.
The Clippers are now on the downturn and stuck with an old, expensive roster that has no honest shot of a deep playoff run. Meanwhile, the Thunder are in the infancy stages of a title window.
The Clippers ultimately paid a premium price to acquire George from the Thunder in 2019. While it was perhaps a necessary gamble because it helped the team also acquire Kawhi Leonard, it is wild to consider just how many assets the front office surrendered in this deal five years ago.
“We traded a lot to pair Paul and Kawhi, and in exchange, we had five seasons of contention. Even though we fell short of our ultimate objective, we appreciate the chances we had with Paul.”
Looking back, Danilo Gallinari was the main piece that made the deal work financially. But he was hardly the most important part of this move.
Some fans may forget that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander began his career with the Clippers. He was drafted at No. 11 overall and played his rookie season in Los Angeles before he was named All-Rookie Second Team.
While he wasn’t yet who he is today, he was the centerpiece of the deal for the Thunder. Knowing what we know now, Gilgeous-Alexander already has more trade value than George. But that wasn’t all that the Clippers gave up to make this happen.
Also included in the deal was a loaded collection of first-round picks, some of which have been more favorable than others. It seems the most valuable was the No. 12 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, which was used to pick Jalen Williams.
After earning NBA All-Rookie First-Team during his debut campaign with the Thunder in 2023, he had a breakout season with the Thunder last year and has proven himself as one of the most impressive young players in the NBA.
Oklahoma City also received the No. 18 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, which was used on Tre Mann, who was later rerouted to the Hornets as part of the trade for Gordon Hayward.
Other assets from L.A. in the deal included the No. 26 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft (which was recently used to select Dillon Jones from Weber State).
The Clippers also owned what became the No. 18 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft (used to seelct Jaime Jaquez Jr.), though Oklahoma City turned that into a protected 2025 first-round pick or an unprotected first-round pick in 2026 from the Heat.
That means Oklahoma City is still owed a first-round pick from Miami, the rights to swap picks with the Clippers in 2025, and a first-round pick from the Clippers in 2026.
Meanwhile, the Clippers are left with nothing back in return for George.
According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the timing of Kawhi Leonard’s latest contract extension may have set George’s Clippers departure into motion. That’s because when the Clippers re-signed Leonard, effectively committing to him for the long term, they reportedly never even told George about their plans.
Under normal circumstances, I fail to see why this is a big deal. What they plan to do with Leonard shouldn’t necessarily be privy to George.
When the Clippers have been simultaneously trying to negotiate with George while probably saying they have to fit him on their books under their terms, I can then see the vision:
"When they signed Kawhi [Leonard] to that deal, they never told Paul George about it." 😳 @WindhorstESPN on Paul George's negotiations with the Clippers 👀 pic.twitter.com/x9ASFP7iQ1
If you want to appease your franchise guys, you have to make it seem like they’re wanted and appreciated. I’m not entirely sure I would’ve taken a lack of knowledge about Leonard’s extension so personally, but George is a perennial All-Star caliber player. He’s a guy who likely wants another max deal at 34.
