One deal Two fates: Thunder rises due to Alexander, and the Clippers Gemini era has no championship in five years

Translator's note: The original text was published in the Los Angeles Times. The data in the article were as of the time of publication (June 10th local time), and the date involved has been converted. The views in the article have nothing to do with the translator and the platform.

This is a watershed moment. The always unlucky Los Angeles Clippers defeated the always respected Los Angeles Lakers and won more than one, but two superstars.

This news shocked the entire league: In just a few hours, the Clippers traded Paul George and then signed Kawhi Leonard.

Six years later, the deal about George was considered a tragic unequal deal, the Clippers were completely ransacked and forced to watch the assets they gave out, bringing the Oklahoma City Thunder to a position just a few wins away from the NBA championship.

If the Clippers won a championship in five seasons with George and Leonard, the deal would not be so harsh. However, the farthest time this team has only entered the Western Conference Finals in 2021.

George left as a free agent in the last offseason to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers. Due to injuries, Leonard played only 266 games in the Clippers' 472 games. The Clippers paid George $195.9 million and have paid Leonard $194.6 million — two years away from Leonard’s contract, worth $100.3 million.

Meanwhile, one of two players sent to the Thunder along with five first-round picks - Shea Gilgers Alexander - has grown into the NBA's most valuable player. And the 2022 first-round draft pick obtained from the Clippers was used to select Jaylen Williams, a rising star who averaged 21.6 points per game this season.

Both of them are great value for money. Alexander only earned $13.5 million in his first three seasons with the Thunder, and then signed a five-year, $173 million contract that will last until the 2026-27 season. Williams made $13.7 million in three seasons and will earn $6.6 million next season, the final year of his rookie contract.

And it's a deal that keeps paying off - for the Thunder, they won the 15th and 24th picks in this year's draft for this year's draft, and the Clippers' first-round pick in 2026.

In January 2024, shortly after the Clippers beat the Thunder, when asked how to evaluate the deal, George reluctantly admitted that the balance had tilted towards Oklahoma City.

"I just think both sides won," George said. "I do think the Clippers are willing to give up quite a bit of chips... When that deal first happened, we knew Shay would be very, very good, but he was special."

George sighed and continued, "I think to some extent Oklahoma City won that deal with those draft picks and future MVPs, but both sides were win-win."

The fact is that the Clippers couldn't say no to the deal. Why? Because Leonard was a free agent at the time and had just helped the Toronto Raptors win the NBA championship and won the Finals MVP, he was weighing the offers from the Lakers, Raptors and Clippers.

Signing Leonard is crucial, and he gave the Clippers a condition similar to an ultimatum: trade a star, and I'm yours. Otherwise, I'll go to the Lakers.

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer needs to be convinced that giving up a large number of draft picks is a wise move. For Clippers coach Doug Rivers, Leonard's signing with the Lakers was an unimaginable result, jokingly telling Ballmer that if that happens, the Clippers will have to move to Seattle.

"Steve Ballmer is nervous about those draft picks," Rivers said in his 2019 acceptance of the Los Angeles Times. "I said, 'Steve, you're crazy for six draft picks for Paul George, but you're wrong. It's not six draft picks for Paul; it's six draft picks for Paul and Kawhi. So three for each. I'm willing to do that.' You have to look at it from that perspective."

Thunder general manager Sam Presti knew the Clippers were desperate to finish the deal, so he asked for Alexander — who had just finished an impressive rookie season at the time — and highly respected forward Danilo Gallinari and those draft picks.

Unforeseen, Alexander will quickly grow from a promising young man to the cornerstone of the team, and may even become the best player in the NBA. This season, Alexander led the league's scoring list with an average of 32.7 points per game. He contributed 34 points, eight assists and five rebounds in the second game of the Thunder's victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday's Finals.

In Game 1, Alexander missed two last-minute shots, providing an opportunity for the Pacers' amazing reversal. Still, Alexander scored 38 points, and his 72 points in the first two NBA Finals set a league record.

"I'm just being myself," Alexander said in an interview. "I don't think I'm trying to deliberately pursue being different, or meeting the challenge with a different mindset. I'm just trying to play the game the right way. I think I've done a pretty good job in this so far."

In 18 playoff games, Alexander averaged 30.4 points, 6.8 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. In the playoffs of at least 16 games, only Michael Jordan and LeBron James have played such numbers.

This is not unexpected at all. Because shortly after the transaction, Alexander gave the Clippers the opportunity to experience regret. On December 23, 2019, in the Thunders' 118-112 victory over the Clippers, Alexander scored 32 points, 5 assists and 2 steals. Almost two years later, Alexander hit another buzzer-beating three-pointer to help the Thunder defeat the Clippers 104-103.

The next step is to win the finals and bring a championship trophy to Oklahoma City - an unattainable one for the Clippers, as they are the oldest team in North American professional sports history that has never reached the Finals.

"We are here now, you can't go back to the past," said Alexander. "You can only make the future better. That's what I'm concerned about." The Clippers can only do this.