3. Kevin Durant
We all know that it is nearly impossible to win an NBA championship without a top-five level player on your roster. The best talents are what lead to championships in this league, and that is why the Clippers went so hard after a proven superstar in Kawhi Leonard. The hope was that this move would be the one with the best chance of bringing them a title in short order.
But the Clippers could have opted to play the long game. If they had wanted to take a bit of a riskier approach, they would have had the option to go after Kevin Durant instead. One of the best offensive players of a generation, KD was in a unique place at the time. He was coming off four straight All-NBA appearances and two Finals MVPs with the Warriors in 2017 and 2018, but the injury he suffered during the 2019 Finals was one that gave everyone around the NBA significant concern.
Durant had torn his Achilles, an injury widely known as one of the worst in all of sports. KD was still considered a top-five player in the world at the time, but that particular injury had the potential to seriously shorten his career. Thankfully, it did not, but it is understandable why the Clippers and other teams were hesitant to go after him at the time.
Had LA gone after Durant, they would have had to wait to utilize his services for a season while he recovered, but they ultimately would have had another all-world superstar on their hands.