Getty Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George
The Oklahoma City Thunder weren’t expected to be involved in the Kawhi Leonard sweepstakes in any form or fashion, but NBA free agency provided yet another wild turn. The Los Angeles Clippers had faded to the background for Leonard in the eyes of many, but they remained quiet and locked in on getting the job done. The two teams then proceeded to pull off a stunning move which shakes the NBA landscape.
As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported, the Clippers not only signed Leonard, but struck a blockbuster trade for Paul George as well.
The deal was huge and features the Clippers sending five first-round picks (four unprotected), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari in exchange for George.
The Clippers are sending the Thunder four unprotected first-round picks, one protected first-round pick and two pick swaps, league sources tell ESPN. Those picks go to OKC with Gallinari and SGA.
Following the trade we’re going to take a look at the Thunder roster and starting lineup heading towards the 2019-20 season. It’s worth noting that there may be more changes in store for Oklahoma City before the offseason wraps up.
Thunder Roster & Starting Lineup After Paul George Trade
*Notates expected starter.
C: Steven Adams*, Nerlens Noel
PF: Jerami Grant*, Mike Muscala, Patrick Patterson
SF: Danilo Gallinari*, Darius Bazley, Abdel Nader, Deonte Burton
SG: Andre Roberson, Dennis Schroeder, Terrance Ferguson, Hamidou Diallo
PG: Russell Westbrook*, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
It’s worth noting that there are a number of ways the Thunder starting lineup could look. In turn, I left the shooting guard starter as a “TBD” status, as Andre Roberson, Dennis Schroeder or Gilgeous-Alexander could all be options for the first unit.
Obviously, the Thunder roster will look drastically different down the line with the plethora of draft picks, but the impact of those won’t be felt this season. Regardless, the addition of Gilgeous-Alexander and Gallinari are both poised to help this season.
Even with the new-look Thunder adding two talented pieces, replacing George is a tall task and surely take more than that. Russell Westbrook is once again primed to do a massive amount of heavy lifting offensively, although the new additions will at least help ease the load somewhat.
‘Discontent’ Reported With Thunder Stars
If the eye-opening trade and Leonard’s decision to sign with the Clippers wasn’t enough fun for one day, the added drama came shortly after. As The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported, there was “discontent” between George and Westbrook, which other NBA teams were aware of.
Rival NBA teams have been aware of the discontent of OKC’s two stars: Paul George — and Russell Westbrook, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Leonard pushed the Clippers in recent days to deliver him a second star, and they did.
With this news coming to light, it makes the deal sending George to Los Angeles far less surprising. Even still, the haul which the Thunder received was nothing short of incredible.
It appears the meeting between Leonard and George involving the idea of teaming up happened just recently as well. Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the two met in Los Angeles earlier this week.
Sources: Leonard and George met in LA earlier in week. Clippers had long been frontrunners for Leonard, but it is unlikely he would’ve made final leap to sign without PG trade. Clippers imagined Leonard as part of a Lakers Big 3 — and knew they had no choice. They did OKC deal.
Leonard and George teaming up in an effort to go toe-to-toe with the Lakers’ pairing of LeBron James and Anthony Davis seems to have been appealing to both players. Obviously, it cost the Clippers a ton to make it happen, so if the Thunder choose to go through a mini-rebuild, they have the assets to do so fairly quickly.
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Thunder Roster & Starting Lineup After Paul George Trade