Trade: [OKC/LAC] Paul George for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, 5 1st round picks, and 2 swaps

[Vamos Rafa]

you're telling me there would have been zero backlash if lebron had done that?

or are you in denial over the fact that the PG trade was widely lauded by the media while the lakers were accused if giving up too much for a better player? not to mention no one uttered a peep about kawhi scheming with a guy under contract to demand a trade

Huh? LeBron wasn't a free agent. He would've been under the Lakers contract while demanding someone from another team get traded. Kawhi was not under anyone's contract.

I've yet to hear anyone blast the Lakers for trading that package for AD especially now that they've created some depth. Maybe before all of the Kawhi watch was over when the Lakers weren't making any moves and they didn't emerge to be a legit landing spot for Kawhi because AD will be a FA next year and it could've been a one-year rental. But now with the Lakers having a contending squad, no one is giving a f*** about the Lakers trading their future. Maybe because Ingram will never be as good as AD and Lonzo was never worth being the 2nd pick. The Lakers looked to be running out of available free agents to sign while waiting for Kawhi but they recovered.

You're always looking for a reason to make everyone look like they're out to get the Lakers when in reality, they're getting all kinds of love now after years of ineptitude under the Buss kids.

 

[Terry Yake]

Huh? LeBron wasn't a free agent. He would've been under the Lakers contract while demanding someone from another team get traded. Kawhi was not under anyone's contract.

I've yet to hear anyone blast the Lakers for trading that package for AD especially now that they've created some depth. Maybe before all of the Kawhi watch was over when the Lakers weren't making any moves and they didn't emerge to be a legit landing spot for Kawhi because AD will be a FA next year and it could've been a one-year rental. But now with the Lakers having a contending squad, no one is giving a **** about the Lakers trading their future. Maybe because Ingram will never be as good as AD and Lonzo was never worth being the 2nd pick. The Lakers looked to be running out of available free agents to sign while waiting for Kawhi but they recovered.

You're always looking for a reason to make everyone out to get the Lakers when in reality, they're getting all kinds of love now after years of ineptitude under the Buss kids.

has nothing to do with lebron or kawhi being free agents. kawhi schemed with a guy under contract (PG) to demand a trade out of OKC. if lebron (as a FA) had done that fans like you and the media would have spontaneously combusted

lol that's not true at all. when the AD trade first went down there were a bunch of "insiders" echoing that same "lakers gave up too much" BS. despite the fact that everyone knew trading those guys and picks was worth it to bring in AD. just like trading a bunch of picks and SGA was worth it to get PG. i'm just pointing out the obvious bias when it came to comparing two very similar deals

lakers getting all kinds of love? please show me where that's the case. i think you're mistaking them for the clippers

 

[Vamos Rafa]

has nothing to do with lebron or kawhi being free agents. kawhi schemed with a guy under contract (PG) to demand a trade out of OKC. if lebron (as a FA) had done that fans like you and the media would have spontaneously combusted

lol that's not true at all. when the AD trade first went down there were a bunch of "insiders" echoing that same "lakers gave up too much" BS. despite the fact that everyone knew trading those guys and picks was worth it to bring in AD. just like trading a bunch of picks and SGA was worth it to get PG. i'm just pointing out the obvious bias when it came to comparing two very similar deals

lakers getting all kinds of love? please show me where that's the case.

i think you're mistaking them for the clippers

Whoooooooo cares? LeBron had the same demand before signing back with Cleveland when he wanted Kevin Love. I'm not sure if you whined about it but I'm pretty sure LeBron hater Vloight did. Why are you making such a big deal out of this anyway? You want to put some kind of asterisk on this good offseason by the Clippers or something? Why don't you just give credit where its due without bitching about "Kawhi tampering with PG" or "Kawhi only signed with the Clippers because they hired a stalker."

That's exactly what I said. They were only criticizing the AD trade before AD waived his trade kicker and it looked like there wasn't any chance of landing Kawhi. It was a legit argument because he will be a FA after this season. And I'll tell you the difference between the two trades. AD, with only one year remaining plus an aging LeBron. Kawhi still in his prime and a trade for PG also still in his prime with 4 years left on the deal (not a potential one-year rental like AD could've been).

 

[Terry Yake]

Whoooooooo cares? LeBron had the same demand before signing back with Cleveland when he wanted Kevin Love. I'm not sure if you whined about it but I'm pretty sure LeBron hater Vloight did. Why are you making such a big deal out of this anyway? You want to put some kind of asterisk on this good offseason by the Clippers or something? Why don't you just give credit where its due without *****ing about "Kawhi tampering with PG" or "Kawhi only signed with the Clippers because they hired a stalker."

That's exactly what I said. They were only criticizing the AD trade before AD waived his trade kicker and it looked like there wasn't any chance of landing Kawhi. It was a legit argument because he will be a FA after this season. And I'll tell you the difference between the two trades. AD, with only one year remaining plus an aging LeBron. Kawhi still in his prime and a trade for PG also still in his prime with 4 years left on the deal (not a potential one-year rental like AD could've been).

lebron didn't say "i'm not going back to cleveland unless they get love." i did give the clips credit for the PG trade but you predictably ignored that because i'd never do any such thing. doesn't take away from the fact the entire thing was very shady

lol it had nothing to do with the trade kicker. there was so much "lakers gave up too much?" BS coming from around the league right after the deal went down. from the same people who said the complete opposite about the PG trade. why would there be any article NOW talking about the AD trade? go back to when the deal happened and i guarantee you'll find a bunch. and you think being projected as a top 3 seed is "love?" hahahaha. no, that's the result of having two top 5 players on the roster. there is no love being thrown the lakers way right now

 

[Vamos Rafa]

lebron didn't say "i'm not going back to cleveland unless they get love." i did give the clips credit for the PG trade but you predictably ignored that because i'd never do any such thing. doesn't take away from the fact the entire thing was very shady

lol it had nothing to do with the trade kicker. there was so much "lakers gave up too much?" BS coming from around the league right after the deal went down. from the same people who said the complete opposite about the PG trade. why would there be any article NOW talking about the AD trade? go back to when the deal happened and i guarantee you'll find a bunch. and you think being projected as a top 3 seed is "love?" hahahaha. no, that's the result of having two top 5 players on the roster. there is no love being thrown the lakers way right now

Lol, sure he didn't. Even if he didn't, there was no way he wouldn't have demanded for a third all star on the team. You "gave them credit" by high fiving yourself because your safe bet came true (Kawhi going to the Lakers) and then a subtle insult by saying they hired a "stalker" to get the deal done. How was the whole thing "shady"? Nothing shady about it. You will never admit it but this is just you being salty. You were on the verge of believing the Clippers were out of the Kawhi sweepstakes and being in euphoria that the Lakers were undoubtedly getting him because of all these reports. I didn't see any posts from you saying that these pro-Laker reports were BS because you saw tweets and reports that were music to your ears.

It's arguable that at first the Lakers did give up too much for a potential one year rental. But now with the Lakers constructing a great team on paper, I see no way AD is bolting aftee this season.

The Clippers essentially traded their package for BOTH Kawhi and PG if you think about it. I think that's why the trade isn't getting a lot of criticisms.

You seem to love replying with "it had nothing to do this it had nothing to do that." Of course, it does. AD keeping his trade kicker would've prevented the possibillity of signing Kawhi. Yes, that is getting love from the media. What do you want people to say for you to consider "getting love"? You're living under a rock if you think all the Lakers are getting is hate. Again, show me any reports or articles of the Lakers getting criticized now for their offseason moves. Where is this hate you're talking about? The only hate comes from mocking Laker fans and the pro Kawhi to Lakers insiders being proven wrong about the Kawhi watch saga. Other than that, they've been getting praised for the solid role players the Lakers have been able to sign especially with the signing of Cousins who could potentially be back to his old self on a bargain contract.

Life must be so hard when playing the victim all the time.

 

[MMC]

Lol, sure he didn't. Even if he didn't, there was no way he wouldn't have demanded for a third all star on the team. You "gave them credit" by high fiving yourself because your safe bet came true (Kawhi going to the Lakers) and then a subtle insult by saying they hired a "stalker" to get the deal done. How was the whole thing "shady"? Nothing shady about it. You will never admit it but this is just you being salty. You were on the verge of believing the Clippers were out of the Kawhi sweepstakes and being in euphoria that the Lakers were undoubtedly getting him because of all these reports. I didn't see any posts from you saying that these pro-Laker reports were BS because you saw tweets and reports that were music to your ears.

It's arguable that at first the Lakers did give up too much for a potential one year rental. But now with the Lakers constructing a great team on paper, I see no way AD is bolting aftee this season.

The Clippers essentially traded their package for BOTH Kawhi and PG if you think about it. I think that's why the trade isn't getting a lot of criticisms.

You seem to love replying with "it had nothing to do this it had nothing to do that." Of course, it does. AD keeping his trade kicker would've prevented the possibillity of signing Kawhi. Yes, that is getting love from the media. What do you want people to say for you to consider "getting love"? You're living under a rock if you think all the Lakers are getting is hate. Again, show me any reports or articles of the Lakers getting criticized now for their offseason moves. Where is this hate you're talking about? The only hate comes from mocking Laker fans and the pro Kawhi to Lakers insiders being proven wrong about the Kawhi watch saga. Other than that, they've been getting praised for the solid role players the Lakers have been able to sign especially with the signing of Cousins who could potentially be back to his old self on a bargain contract.

Life must be so hard when playing the victim all the time.

The egotistical tone of your posts is hilarious coming from a fan of a team who has never made it past the second round

 

[Terry Yake]

Lol, sure he didn't. Even if he didn't, there was no way he wouldn't have demanded for a third all star on the team. You "gave them credit" by high fiving yourself because your safe bet came true (Kawhi going to the Lakers) and then a subtle insult by saying they hired a "stalker" to get the deal done. How was the whole thing "shady"? Nothing shady about it. You will never admit it but this is just you being salty. You were on the verge of believing the Clippers were out of the Kawhi sweepstakes and being in euphoria that the Lakers were undoubtedly getting him because of all these reports. I didn't see any posts from you saying that these pro-Laker reports were BS because you saw tweets and reports that were music to your ears.

It's arguable that at first the Lakers did give up too much for a potential one year rental. But now with the Lakers constructing a great team on paper, I see no way AD is bolting aftee this season.

The Clippers essentially traded their package for BOTH Kawhi and PG if you think about it. I think that's why the trade isn't getting a lot of criticisms.

You seem to love replying with "it had nothing to do this it had nothing to do that." Of course, it does. AD keeping his trade kicker would've prevented the possibillity of signing Kawhi. Yes, that is getting love from the media. What do you want people to say for you to consider "getting love"? You're living under a rock if you think all the Lakers are getting is hate. Again, show me any reports or articles of the Lakers getting criticized now for their offseason moves. Where is this hate you're talking about? The only hate comes from mocking Laker fans and the pro Kawhi to Lakers insiders being proven wrong about the Kawhi watch saga. Other than that, they've been getting praised for the solid role players the Lakers have been able to sign especially with the signing of Cousins who could potentially be back to his old self on a bargain contract.

Life must be so hard when playing the victim all the time.

they did have someone stalk kawhi for a year. and it was shady because kawhi schemed with a guy under contract with OKC to demand a trade. the only reason you don't think its shady is because you're a clippers fan. if AD had done that i'm sure you'd be saying it wasn't shady right? lol. and i never once ruled the clippers out. why? because i know what jerry west is capable of. and the silence coming from the clippers was the sign that they were still very much in it. the vast majority of the "insiders" are clowns who should not be taken seriously. why would i be salty? the lakers had a damn good offseason and have two top 5 players.

and like i said, if you look up articles or tweets from when the AD trade happened you'll find a bunch asking if the lakers gave up too much

 

[dahrougem2]

I don't think that Sam Presti did a good job at all.

Did he get a lot of picks and a promising young kid? Yeah. But Paul George still had two guaranteed years left on his contract. He could have asked for a trade all he wanted, Presti was under no obligation to do so. ESPECIALLY in such a quick manner to make a Western Conference rival the new title favourites.

It's obviously a player-driven league, but Presti acted like he had to make this deal immediately. He didn't. Props to the Clippers for getting what they wanted, when they wanted it.

 

[Marc the Habs Fan]

Interesting that the deal is still not announced by either team. Ditto for Kawhi signing with Clips. What could be the holdup?

 

[Voight]

Lol, sure he didn't. Even if he didn't, there was no way he wouldn't have demanded for a third all star on the team. You "gave them credit" by high fiving yourself because your safe bet came true (Kawhi going to the Lakers) and then a subtle insult by saying they hired a "stalker" to get the deal done. How was the whole thing "shady"? Nothing shady about it. You will never admit it but this is just you being salty. You were on the verge of believing the Clippers were out of the Kawhi sweepstakes and being in euphoria that the Lakers were undoubtedly getting him because of all these reports. I didn't see any posts from you saying that these pro-Laker reports were BS because you saw tweets and reports that were music to your ears.

It's arguable that at first the Lakers did give up too much for a potential one year rental. But now with the Lakers constructing a great team on paper, I see no way AD is bolting aftee this season.

The Clippers essentially traded their package for BOTH Kawhi and PG if you think about it. I think that's why the trade isn't getting a lot of criticisms.

You seem to love replying with "it had nothing to do this it had nothing to do that." Of course, it does. AD keeping his trade kicker would've prevented the possibillity of signing Kawhi. Yes, that is getting love from the media. What do you want people to say for you to consider "getting love"? You're living under a rock if you think all the Lakers are getting is hate. Again, show me any reports or articles of the Lakers getting criticized now for their offseason moves. Where is this hate you're talking about? The only hate comes from mocking Laker fans and the pro Kawhi to Lakers insiders being proven wrong about the Kawhi watch saga. Other than that, they've been getting praised for the solid role players the Lakers have been able to sign especially with the signing of Cousins who could potentially be back to his old self on a bargain contract.

Life must be so hard when playing the victim all the time.

I dont think AD was ever going to be a one year rental. He/his agent were pretty open about playing in LA or NY, seemed like anywhere else would be a 1 year stop. Thats why the Lakers were willing to give up so much, they knew he was going to stay long term. Knicks could have done the same but Dolan gonna Dolan.

If stalk is your word for it, then I guess the stalker of Woj and his bank account must've sucked at his job. Player-to-player tampering happens and the league can't do anything about it, It's the front office employees that get in trouble for that. Why do you keep comparing what a Laker player would do when they're in different situations? If AD was in the same position as Kawhi (a free agent) and he demanded someone to be traded to a team he would like to sign with, I wouldn't give a ****. You can still be salty while you're happy with the team you have. You had fun bashing Woj and laughing with Vloight at the Woj takes money from Ballmer jokes, Whether or not you thought it was real or not, I don't know. But I'd lean towards the former. I myself, had fears of the Clippers being out of the sweepstakes. I wasn't about to be ready for Vloight and his arsenal of Clippers struck out on free agency memes. You know he was ready to post tweets if Kawhi didn't sign with LAC.

How many times do I have to tell you? I agree that the Lakers got some criticisms for the AD trade in the BEGINNING. I've been asking you for recent articles that are still blasting the Lakers for this trade and I guaranteed you that you wouldn't find any. Personally at first I didn't think it was too much. Ingram and Lonzo are nothing special. Ingram might be an all star someday but not a superstar. I'm gonna root for Lonzo now but I really have doubts he'll be more than a 12 PPG 8 APG player.

By stalk I believe he meant Clippers staff attending nearly every Raptors game. Including Frank & Ballmer at times.

I don't think that Sam Presti did a good job at all.

Did he get a lot of picks and a promising young kid? Yeah. But Paul George still had two guaranteed years left on his contract. He could have asked for a trade all he wanted, Presti was under no obligation to do so. ESPECIALLY in such a quick manner to make a Western Conference rival the new title favourites.

It's obviously a player-driven league, but Presti acted like he had to make this deal immediately. He didn't. Props to the Clippers for getting what they wanted, when they wanted it.

OKC had run its course and literally couldnt do anything to improve the team, they were capped out. He was fine to keep everyone on the team but when the Clippers realized they needed PG, he saw an opportunity. What more could the Clips have offered? Trading for Lou Will, Harrell or Beverley would have been pointless, other than them there aint much on that team aside from what he got already.

 

[Hadoop]

Interesting that the deal is still not announced by either team. Ditto for Kawhi signing with Clips. What could be the holdup?

Holdup turned out to them waiting for Leonard to decide on the number of years he was willing to sign for. Typical Kawhi.

 

[Hadoop]

OKC got a good one in Gilgeous-Alexander. Kid is still raw but the sky's the limit for him.

 

[Addison Rae]

I don't think that Sam Presti did a good job at all.

Did he get a lot of picks and a promising young kid? Yeah. But Paul George still had two guaranteed years left on his contract. He could have asked for a trade all he wanted, Presti was under no obligation to do so. ESPECIALLY in such a quick manner to make a Western Conference rival the new title favourites.

It's obviously a player-driven league, but Presti acted like he had to make this deal immediately. He didn't. Props to the Clippers for getting what they wanted, when they wanted it.

I don’t see a chance that they were getting a better return than this.

They got a fantastic young player and a unprecedented haul of picks.

 

[Voight]

Literally the most assets ever traded for one player.

Plus now that Kawhi + PG are only guaranteed two years, if things go wrong for Ballmers Squad then ohh boy this could end up being the Nets/Celts deal all over again.

Presti is a smart and very seasoned guy, I'm guessing he also had a gut feeling Kawhi would only match George's commitment.

 

[Gecklund]

Literally the most assets ever traded for one player.

Plus now that Kawhi + PG are only guaranteed two years, if things go wrong for Ballmers Squad then ohh boy this could end up being the Nets/Celts deal all over again.

Presti is a smart and very seasoned guy, I'm guessing he also had a gut feeling Kawhi would only match George's commitment.

It definitely is a lot of assets but it's no where near the Nets/Celtics deal. The Nets weren't a playoff team the year before and traded for aging stars. Everyone knew it was a bad trade and that the Nets got screwed. The Clippers on the other hand added two of the best players in the NBA to an already playoff team that took the Dynasty Warriors to 7 games. Their roster is crazy deep now.

Bev/Williams/Mann
Shamet/McGruder/JRob
Kawhi/Harkless
George/Green
Zubac/Harrell/Kabengele

They still have cap space too.

 

[Halladay]

This was more than just Paul George though, it was also for Kawhi. They had to do it.

 

[The Night King]

It definitely is a lot of assets but it's no where near the Nets/Celtics deal. The Nets weren't a playoff team the year before and traded for aging stars. Everyone knew it was a bad trade and that the Nets got screwed. The Clippers on the other hand added two of the best players in the NBA to an already playoff team that took the Dynasty Warriors to 7 games. Their roster is crazy deep now.

Bev/Williams/Mann
Shamet/McGruder/JRob
Kawhi/Harkless
George/Green
Zubac/Harrell/Kabengele

They still have cap space too.

That series went 6 games and credit to the clippers for battling but I doubt the warriors really cared about them.

 

[DueDiligence]

I don't think that Sam Presti did a good job at all.

Did he get a lot of picks and a promising young kid? Yeah. But Paul George still had two guaranteed years left on his contract. He could have asked for a trade all he wanted, Presti was under no obligation to do so. ESPECIALLY in such a quick manner to make a Western Conference rival the new title favourites.

It's obviously a player-driven league, but Presti acted like he had to make this deal immediately. He didn't. Props to the Clippers for getting what they wanted, when they wanted it.

You are one of the few people in the world with that opinion. He did great.

 

[dahrougem2]

You are one of the few people in the world with that opinion. He did great.

Let me rephrase. He got a real good haul.

However, I just don't know why he, and other GM's around the league, are so quick to act on something like this.

 

[Five Alarm Fire]

Let me rephrase. He got a real good haul.

However, I just don't know why he, and other GM's around the league, are so quick to act on something like this.

You mean why he did it within the week? The deal disappears once Kawhi signs elsewhere. No other suitor was going to be as desperate as the Clippers.

In terms of incentive it was in their best interest. The core wasn't going anywhere and they were deep into the luxury tax. This was a get out of jail free card.

 

[Voight]

It definitely is a lot of assets but it's no where near the Nets/Celtics deal. The Nets weren't a playoff team the year before and traded for aging stars. Everyone knew it was a bad trade and that the Nets got screwed. The Clippers on the other hand added two of the best players in the NBA to an already playoff team that took the Dynasty Warriors to 7 games. Their roster is crazy deep now.

Bev/Williams/Mann
Shamet/McGruder/JRob
Kawhi/Harkless
George/Green
Zubac/Harrell/Kabengele

They still have cap space too.

What I'm saying is if the team doesn't do much the next 2 years and Kawhi/PG opt out, it could turn into one of those scenarios given OKC has the 1st round picks, plus pick swaps in between.

It was definitely worth the risk but could end badly.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

You mean why he did it within the week? The deal disappears once Kawhi signs elsewhere. No other suitor was going to be as desperate as the Clippers.

In terms of incentive it was in their best interest. The core wasn't going anywhere and they were deep into the luxury tax. This was a get out of jail free card.

You know what, I dunno that they would go nowhere. They haven't gotten out of the first round with those two but it still might've been their best shot for a long time. With the Warriors hurt and the Rockets a mess I might've taken my chances. A rebuild might just land them in mediocrity for a long time, no harm in delaying that.

 

[Voight]

You know what, I dunno that they would go nowhere. They haven't gotten out of the first round with those two but it still might've been their best shot for a long time. With the Warriors hurt and the Rockets a mess I might've taken my chances. A rebuild might just land them in mediocrity for a long time, no harm in delaying that.

I think Presti knew unless they won championship by 2021, PG was going to LA that year. Sure he committed and said he loved OKC.... but if there was no winning he'd certainly be on the first flight back to LA.

PG was at max value last week, and if he chose to leave in 2 years time they'd get a minimal return (in a sign + trade) or nothing.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

I think Presti knew unless they won championship by 2021, PG was going to LA that year. Sure he committed and said he loved OKC.... but if there was no winning he'd certainly be on the first flight back to LA.

PG was at max value last week, and if he chose to leave in 2 years time they'd get a minimal return (in a sign + trade) or nothing.

Maybe, but two years is a long time away, a lot can happen then. It's a good haul and maybe with all these picks they have now they have a better chance at making something happen but I dunno. I don't fault him for what he did but don't think he would've been wrong to refuse to blow it up.

 

[Voight]

Maybe, but two years is a long time away, a lot can happen then. It's a good haul and maybe with all these picks they have now they have a better chance at making something happen but I dunno. I don't fault him for what he did but don't think he would've been wrong to refuse to blow it up.

The problem was they were capped out with no room to move. They were stuck with their roster and didn't have many assets to make a move for a 3rd star/good player. Likely weren't going to draft one with mid to late 1st round picks either.

They could have kept trying especially now with the west a lot more open but now they can rebuild while everyone else fights it out and then make their moves when the time is right.

Ideally they would have traded Westbrook right after KD left but it would've been hard for the paying fans to see the teams best players leave within a month or two of each other.