In 2018, the LA Clippers got one of the steals of the draft by trading for the rights to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was selected 11th overall. Gilgeous-Alexander showed plenty of promise in his rookie campaign during the 2018-19 season, but the Clippers were ready to go all-in the following offseason, which came at the expense of the young guard.
The Clippers traded Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first-round picks, and two first-round pick swaps to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for All-Star forward Paul George.
From a piece in the Paul George deal to the best player in the league 😤
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins the 2024-25 NBA MVP 🏆 pic.twitter.com/T2jm0CQrjV
— Underdog (@Underdog) May 21, 2025
Now, six years later, Paul George is on the Philadelphia 76ers after a disappointing Clippers campaign, and Gilgeous-Alexander is three wins away from a championship with the Thunder.
However, even in 2019 when the trade happened, many people knew the Clippers would end up regretting it. Doc Rivers, LA's head coach at the time, got honest about his reaction when the blockbuster trade happened on a recent KG Certified episode.
"Shai, listen, I was part of [the trade]," Rivers said. "You can ask Sam [Cassell], when we did the trade, I told Sam, 'Man, I know we've got to do this trade, but Shai is going to be a superstar, man.' You could see it early. He had a great rookie year. And the other thing he has is character. He's a high-character kid. He works. He wants to be coached."
Doc and the Clippers knew they had a superstar on their hands with SGA. pic.twitter.com/iNGOt0beWL
— All the Smoke (@allthesmokeprod) June 9, 2025
"Now, when I look back, oh my goodness, six first-round picks? Holy goodness," Rivers said about the trade.
Of course, the Thunder won the trade in hindsight, especially with how incredible Gilgeous-Alexander has become. The NBA MVP is close to becoming a champion, and many Clippers fans still imagine what could have been if the blockbuster trade never happened.