One of the biggest league-changing trades in recent history received some new intel to put extra perspective on the megadeal.
Former sixth man Lou Williams recently spoke about the 2019 Paul George trade, where the Oklahoma City Thunder received Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a treasure trove of draft picks from the LA Clippers.
Four years later, the deal continues to tremendously age well for the Thunder. Gilgeous-Alexander has blossomed into one of the best players in the league and the endless amount of draft picks gives them arguably the deepest trade ammunition in the entire league.
In fact, the Thunder are already benefitting from the Clippers’ draft picks as they used their 2022 first-round pick to select Jalen Williams, who finished No. 2 in Rookie of the Year last season.
In a recent media appearance, Williams spoke about how demoralizing it was to trade Gilgeous-Alexander following an impressive rookie campaign.
Williams played four years for the Clippers, where he was teammates with Gilgeous-Alexander during his rookie season in 2018-19. The 20-year-old rookie was a key starter for a 48-34 Clippers squad that pushed the Golden State Warriors during the playoffs.
“Absolutely. We were heartbroken when he got traded. Absolutely. We were crushed,” Williams said. “Even though it was for PG. We knew who PG was but we have spent so much time and energy and kinda been instrumental in his career and his development. Just making sure he’s getting extra shots. He was so open to information. So open to learning and wanting to be great, we knew he was gonna be one of those players.”
Lou Williams: “We were heartbroken when (SGA) got traded. Absolutely, we were crushed.”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 23, 2023
Former Clippers coach Doc Rivers also said something similar last season. It appears that giving up Gilgeous-Alexander was a bitter pill to swallow for the Clippers but it was the cost of doing business to acquire both Kawhi Leonard and George — who’ve yet to take them to their first NBA Finals appearance.
