The Los Angeles Clippers have moved on from Paul George, but everyone continues to remind them of just how badly they lost that trade -- including a new documentary on Netflix.
It was a new chapter for Los Angeles Clippers basketball. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin had made the Clippers matter for the first time in franchise history, but now they were at the top of the mountain. Landing not only Kawhi Leonard but Paul George as well gave them a one-two punch worthy of being crowned preseason title favorites.
What followed was five seasons of disappointment, with Leonard frequently injured when it mattered the most and George unable to carry the team alone. The organization consistently put the right role players around them, only for the stars to be unavailable when the playoffs rolled around. Three series wins in five years were all the franchise had by the time they let George walk in free agency in the summer of 2024.
It would be one thing if they had signed George or drafted and developed him, but they sent out a massive trade package to the Oklahoma City Thunder to bring George to Los Angeles -- and, most likely, to convince Leonard to commit as well. The centerpiece of that trade package was a young guard named Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has now ascended to the MVP throne and led the Thunder to a championship this past June.
Netflix chose Gilgeous-Alexander as one of their subjects for season 2 of Starting 5, which intimately follows five star NBA players through a season -- in this case, the just completed 2024-25 season when SGA won MVP and a title. And of course, they dug into the trade that sent him to the prairie and shipped Paul George to the coast.
The Clippers lost the Paul George trade
In episode two of the show, Gilgeous-Alexander's agent relayed how excited Shai was to be teaming up with Leonard and George when the news broke -- and how minutes later that alternate future was ripped away when he found out via a news report that he had been included in the deal and was heading to Oklahoma City.
It's a painful moment for the Clippers and their fans to relive. On the one hand, it was a triumphant moment in time for them. On the other, it's now shaded gray with bitterness and disappointment at how incredibly this era of Clippers basketball has failed.
The Thunder, on the other hand, have flourished. They entered a rebuild and quickly used their own assets and the picks acquired from the Clippers to rebuild their roster. One such pick became Jalen Williams, who joined SGA as an All-Star and is himself also better now than Paul George or Kawhi Leonard. One pick is yet to convey until next season.
The Clippers got an often injured forward and three series wins. The Thunder got an MVP, an All-NBA two-way forward and plenty of other assets to use to improve the team, and they built a rising dynasty that just won a title and enters this season as the overwhelming title favorite.
Clippers fans still have plenty of reasons to watch the second season of Starting 5, including their own bearded point guard James Harden being on the show as well. And while the Thunder are the favorites this season, the Clippers are improved and ready to show they can bounce back from their disastrous trade and be a force once more.