Adaptability keeps Pacers coach on cutting edge of NBA change
Adaptability keeps Pacers coach on cutting edge of NBA change What makes Indiana coach Rick Carlisle unique is the way he has engaged with modern disruptions in the NBA, the way he has reimagined his philosophies to suit different teams in different eras.
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Pacers and Thunder NBA Finals is better than it's 'small-market' billing
USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt breaks down the star-studded NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
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OKLAHOMA CITY — The reporter called out Rick Carlisle.
His Indiana Pacers had staged yet another improbable come-from-behind victory in the playoffs, this one in an epic Game 1 of the NBA Finals — a series they entered as overwhelming underdogs. In the first few questions, Carlisle matter-of-factly had downplayed the frenetic pace of Indiana erasing a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter against a Thunder team that rarely squanders leads, especially at home.
'I know you're being Cool Hand Luke and all that,' the reporter began, 'but at any point did you stop and say: 'Damn, that was a hell of a comeback?' '
The way Carlisle opened his answer, in essence a shrug, was quite revealing.
'No, no,' Carlisle began. 'Listen: I've been through too much of this, you know, over the years.'
In what is a fascinating NBA Finals matchup of contrasts, Carlisle, 65, is a mainstay, a proven commodity and hoop lifer, a coach with a deep mental archive. But what makes Carlisle unique is the way he has engaged with modern disruptions in the NBA, the way he has reimagined his philosophies to suit different teams playing in different eras.
OPINION: Pacers cannot keep relying on crazy comebacks. They must start quicker, finish stronger.
And now, Carlisle's Pacers will try to pull off another improbable feat Wednesday, June 11, and go up 2-1 on Oklahoma City (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
'He's got unbelievable endurance in the league,' Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Wednesday, June 4. 'What I'd also say is, he's kind of out in front of some trends in the NBA right now. To be somebody that has the experiences that he has, that's very impressive that he's been able to evolve and be a trendsetter even as he's been one of the longest-tenured people in the NBA.'
Carlisle has been a head coach 23 seasons. He was an assistant 11 seasons before that and a player the five years prior, though his first year as an assistant was unique. He began the 1989-90 campaign as a 30-year-old shooting guard for the Nets. However, he played just 4.2 minutes per game across five contests before he switched over to the coaching staff, becoming an assistant to the very players he had just called teammates.
During his four decades in the NBA, Carlisle has played alongside legends like Larry Bird, only to later serve as an assistant under him in his first stint with the Pacers; coached Hall of Famers Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki to a NBA title with the Dallas Mavericks; and is 11th all-time in coaching victories, with 993.
Carlisle always has had a strong aptitude for offense. It helped that he played for the great Boston Celtics coach K.C. Jones and with Bird and Kevin McHale. Their offensive acumen shaped Carlisle's offensive philosophy.
Still, despite that influence, Carlisle has seen offenses evolve. Not only has he adapted over the years, but his offensive vision has put him at the forefront of innovation, including the pace and effort in which his teams play.
Throughout his coaching career, Carlisle was adamant about making offensive calls from the bench, instructing the point guard what play to run. Pacers center Myles Turner recalled a game in 2021-22, which was Carlisle's first season in his second stint with Indiana.
"Rick was a coach that he used to like to call a play every single possession," Turner said. "Even Rick's first year here, we had a game where he did that. He stopped us and called a play every single possession.
"In the dawn of this new NBA, especially in the playoffs, that stuff doesn't work. It's easy to scout. But when you have random movement on offense, guys that are someone like Tyrese (Haliburton) who wants to pass the ball, it makes the game a little bit easier, especially for a guy like myself who thrives with space."
It was with Kidd that Carlisle's philosophy of player empowerment began to take root and he ceded some control.
'What I learned my first year in Dallas was to give J-Kidd the ball and get out of the way, let him run the show, let him run the team,' Carlisle said Thursday, June 5, before Game 1.
With the Pacers, Carlisle has entrusted Haliburton, an All-Star point guard in 2023 and 2024, to dictate the pace and structure of Indiana's offense. Haliburton is able to operate with significant freedom, choosing when to push up the floor off of rebounds and how quickly.
And while the Pacers do have plenty of set plays, they most often rely on flow and feel, allowing players to instinctively move without the ball and play off each other — almost always with Haliburton taking lead.
'It's pretty clear, when you have a player of that kind of magnitude, that kind of presence, that kind of knowledge and vision and depth, you got to let them do what they do,' Carlisle continued.
Throughout the playoffs, regardless of score, the Pacers have played their game, which has allowed them to secure multiple comeback victories, including their thrilling 111-110 victory against the Thunder in Game 1. During a replay challenge with 22.5 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Carlisle made the decision not to call a timeout following Oklahoma City's possession.
"If we get a stop and get the rebound, we're going to go," he explained to reporters. "Hopefully get the ball in Tyrese's hands and look to make a play."
Carlisle let Haliburton create, which led to the winning shot with 0.3 seconds remaining.
Carlisle's imprint, no matter what happens in the rest of the series, will undoubtedly be palpable. In the 2025 playoffs, the Pacers are No. 2 offensively (117.1 points per 100 possessions), No. 1 in 3-point shooting percentage (40.5%), No. 1 in field goal percentage (49.6%), No. 1 in assists per game (27.8) and No. 3 in pace, which is possessions per 48 minutes.
"The skill aspect is the thing that's the most compelling part of the game, and we're getting to a point now where everybody on the floor, not a 100% of the five men, but all the guys, one through four, can make 3, drive it, make plays," Carlisle said. "And we're getting to a point now where more of the five men can do that than not. It's made the game a lot more difficult to defend, obviously.
"But the skill aspect of it is, to me, always going to be the most compelling part about the beauty of watching the game and the challenge and the beauty of teaching the game."
It's Carlisle's eye for beautiful offense — and his composed assurance to entrust his players — that now has the Pacers three victories from their first NBA title.
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2025 NBA Draft: Why all eyes are on Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs and the No. 2 pick
Victor Wembanyama is a 7-foot-5 alien who warps the court on both ends and might be the most important draft pick since LeBron James. The San Antonio Spurs have one job: don't screw it up. The modern blueprint is crystal clear: space the floor, play with pace and surround your star with shooters and decision-makers. Instead, they're on track to stack three shaky-shooting ball-handlers like it's still 2005. Last year, San Antonio drafted Stephon Castle, who won Rookie of the Year. At the deadline, they traded for De'Aaron Fox. And now they're expected to take Dylan Harper with the second pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, a 6-5 lefty who thrives with the ball in his hands. That's potentially adding three shot-creators in 12 months with not a reliable jumper between them. Advertisement San Antonio's vision is obvious: give Wemby playmakers so he doesn't have to do everything himself. But in today's NBA, it's not just about who can create, it's about who can space the floor. This is the pick that will define the direction of the Spurs, either clarifying their identity or blurring it even further. The situation in San Antonio Here are the shooting numbers for Castle, Fox, and Harper, via Synergy Sports — Fox's entire NBA career; Castle's NBA and college games; and Harper's college and high school games since 2023: Fox hasn't become a great shooter in eight NBA seasons. He's increased his volume from 1.1 catch-and-shoot 3s per game in his first two years to 3.2 in his last two, but the percentages haven't budged: 35.5% then, 35.2% now. Still below the league average of 37.2%. Advertisement And it's not just from deep. From midrange to the line, Fox has always been streaky. These flaws made his acquisition a gamble for San Antonio. But the low cost of expendable assets made him more than worth it. All-Star caliber players who actually want to play for the Spurs are hard to come by. Early returns were underwhelming, though. In 210 minutes together, Castle and Fox got outscored by 10.5 points per 100 possessions. In their 33 minutes with Wemby: minus-12.3. It's a small sample, but the results were ugly before Fox's season was ended by surgery to repair a tendon on his left hand. Still, Fox's arrival takes the pressure off Castle to be a full-time lead guard. Castle, for his part, had a strong rookie year. He looked like the Swiss Army knife scouts promised by defending, cutting, making the extra pass and overall looking like the NBA's new Andre Iguodala. Castle flashed playmaking upside, and he didn't need the ball to contribute. But he shot just 28.5% from 3, which mirrors his college numbers: Though Castle is still only 20, his shooting has always been the primary concern about his future going back to youth levels. If Castle doesn't become a reliable shooter at some point in his career, it'll make it more difficult to get him minutes if the Spurs have more options to handle the ball. Advertisement Harper's form looks fine and he's confident. He even hit 36.8% of his catch-and-shoot 3s as a freshman at Rutgers, which isn't all too bad. But the rest of his profile is loaded with red flags. These aren't the numbers of a sure-thing shooter. An even closer look at Harper's 3-point misses adds more cause for concern. I watched all 104 of Harper's misses at Rutgers and he didn't just miss short or long. He missed in every direction. On dribble jumpers, 26.5% were short and 14.7% were either air balls or blocked, pointing to rhythm issues, lower-body power inconsistencies and a low release point. On catch-and-shoot attempts, 22.2% of his misses went left and 19.4% went right, revealing directional instability even on his cleanest looks. In total, 24 of his 104 misses either hit the backboard, air-balled or were blocked, while nearly one-third sprayed left or right. Harper is clearly still searching for his shot. Advertisement The Spurs could bet he steadily improves, but if so it's more of a hope than a plan. The case for Harper Harper's appeal is related to the way he lived in the paint at Rutgers, finishing 67.5% of his shots at the rim. He doesn't blow by you with blazing speed, but he's got a herky-jerky, keep-you-guessing handle where every move sets up the next. There's a craft to him with the way he splits pick-and-rolls and manipulates defenders that makes him look more like an NBA veteran than a 19-year-old incoming rookie. And he doesn't need a screen to get into the paint either. With a beefy frame and elite body control, Harper barrels downhill at will. Defenses knew he was coming — 47.4% of his shots came in the paint — and they still couldn't stop it. On his drives inside, he's not a genius-level passer, but he's composed, accurate and tough to speed up. Harper doesn't cough up the ball despite a high degree of difficulty in his reps. He's capable of making every pass on the floor, and his feel should only improve over time. (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports Illustration) Harper compares himself to Cade Cunningham, which makes sense since they're both jumbo guards with an all-around offensive skill set and defensive versatility. Much like Cunningham, Harper looks like a future starter at a minimum, and maybe much more. But one difference is this: Cade went first overall to a team that cleared the runway for him. San Antonio already has Castle, Fox and Wemby. There's no runway left. But Harper's path to stardom likely requires space, touches and shooters around him, not sharing a clogged paint. Advertisement And that's the paradox. Harper's talent justifies the pick. His fit makes it risky. If San Antonio takes him, it is effectively copying the Oklahoma City and Indiana blueprint with multiple playmakers and positional flexibility. But those teams work because they surround their stars with players who can either shoot, slash or process quickly enough to keep defenses honest. And their stars can play that way too. San Antonio's potential perimeter trio wouldn't check all of those boxes. They're more slashers, not spacers who stretch defenses. None scares you without the rock, and each of them has his respective issues with it, too. The Thunder and Pacers show players can improve their shots. Tyrese Haliburton dropped in the draft because of concerns about his form, and now he's hitting game-winners in the NBA Finals. Andrew Nembhard entered the league as an unpolished shooter and is in the middle of a playoff run making nearly half of his 3s. In Oklahoma City, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Lu Dort and basically the entire roster have improved. Of course, it helps when you hire Chip Engelland. In 2022, the Thunder poached the NBA's most respected shot doctor after he spent nearly two decades in San Antonio. Since then, Oklahoma City's shooting has trended up. San Antonio's has flatlined. Jeremy Sochan is just as suspect of a shooter as he was at Baylor. Keldon Johnson has regressed. Devin Vassell has smooth mechanics and touch, but even he's never cracked 40% from 3. The Spurs used to be the league's gold standard for skill development. Now no one's getting better as a shooter except for Wemby himself. But in his two seasons, the Spurs have ranked 28th and 20th in 3-point percentage. Advertisement Is having three guards with iffy jumpers really the best way for the Spurs to optimize Wembanyama? Is it best if your second-, third- and fourth-best players all have erratic jumpers? Because this isn't just about skill sets overlapping in the backcourt, it's about how they impact the generational player they're supposed to elevate. The Wemby fit We've yet to see Wembanyama surrounded by four shooters. We haven't even seen him run two-man actions with a competent partner. Inverted pick-and-rolls. Quick slips into space. Dribble handoffs. Stuff that would weaponize his passing and make life easier for everyone. Wemby averaged just 4.8 handoffs per game this past season. For comparison: Domantas Sabonis led the league at 21.1. Rookie Alex Sarr logged 8.1. Even Zach Collins, Wemby's own backup, had more at 4.9. It's absurd that this is true. Yes, Wemby is often the receiver of a handoff. But with his vision, shooting and ball-handling, he should be initiating more of those actions in an ecosystem that provides him space to go to work. The whole point of adding shot-creators is to get Wembanyama easy shots in the paint. No surprises there: Wemby shot an absurd 79% at the rim last season. He's a cheat code in the paint. But he took only 3.2 restricted area attempts per game. That's the same volume as Lauri Markkanen, Rui Hachimura and Jonathan Kuminga. You know who else took more? Jeremy Sochan. Yes, Sochan had 5.1 per game. Sochan had more rim attempts than Wemby. What are we doing here? Advertisement The problem is obvious: there's no room. Sochan can't shoot (career 29% from deep) and the rest of the perimeter isn't any better. So even though Wemby can shoot, he has to for the offense to breathe. The Spurs have added creators, but they haven't added spacing to open lanes for Wemby. The paths forward The Spurs are at a crossroads. Their actions say they want to win now. Their roster says they're not ready. And Wembanyama's rookie contract clock is ticking. So, what should they do? Option 1: Draft Harper, keep Fox and Castle In 2022, the Kings chose Fox over Tyrese Haliburton. Not because Haliburton was worse, but because they didn't think the two could coexist. Maybe they were right. Trading Haliburton for Sabonis helped end a 16-year playoff drought. Advertisement But in hindsight, they acted too fast. Now Haliburton is clearly the better point guard and running one of the best offenses in the league, and the Kings are still trying to figure out what their post-Fox future looks like. The lesson isn't don't choose. The lesson is don't choose before you have to. That's the case for keeping the trio intact. Draft Harper. Let it breathe. Give the coaching staff a year or two or three to figure out who works best with Wemby. Castle's cutting, Harper's slashing, Fox's speed all bring value. Maybe it works. And on defense, it should. Castle was already guarding top options as a rookie. Harper has the size and instincts to be switchable. And when Fox is locked in, he's a defensive playmaker fighting through screens and picking up steals. If the Spurs stick with all three, they could smother perimeter scorers and funnel everything to the league's best rim protector. But Wemby is such a dominant paint protector that he can erase defensive breakdowns. What he can't do is manufacture spacing for himself on the other end. So there'd be more pressure for them to figure it out on offense no matter how good the team's defense becomes. And that concern is shared for the guards, not just Wemby. Harper projects best as a lead initiator with shooting around him, not as the third wheel on a team that can't space the floor. There were better lottery outcomes for him. And if Harper is the pick, what happens to Castle? He's not a shooter. He's not running the offense. So is the reigning Rookie of the Year now a low-usage cutter who doesn't space the floor? It's unclear how Castle's development tracks next to Fox and Harper. Advertisement This option doesn't just assume internal development. It assumes internal compliance that no one pushes for touches, for usage, for clarity. It assumes Wemby will keep deferring while the team figures itself out. San Antonio has a pile of extra first-rounders and zero albatross deals, so it can patch holes on the fly if things sour. So they could take Harper and wait. But if they're wrong, they won't just waste touches. They'll waste time. Option 2: Trade Castle If San Antonio believes Harper has higher long-term upside as a lead initiator, they could explore the idea of moving Castle while his value is sky-high. He's the reigning Rookie of the Year. He's young, versatile and scalable. And he plays with a maturity beyond his years. But if his jumper never comes around, and Fox and Harper are ahead of him on the ball, his role could get squeezed quickly. Advertisement Maybe the Bucks would prefer Castle and picks over Harper in a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Maybe the Celtics bite on a Castle-Vassell-picks package for Jaylen Brown. Maybe another young star becomes available. Option 3: Trade down Teams like the Jazz, Wizards, Pelicans and Nets all need initiators. Maybe one of them would offer a haul to move up for Harper. Looking at the history of trade downs, usually a team would give up their own first and one future first. But considering Harper's upside, perhaps the Spurs could haggle for much more. The Nets, holding the No. 8 pick and a mountain of future firsts plus Cam Johnson, are the most interesting trade partner. Harper is a local kid with star potential, and the Nets have a clean slate he could grow with. If the Spurs want to pivot toward shooting, Johnson plus picks is a logical foundation. Advertisement In that range, Duke wing Kon Knueppel, Arizona forward Carter Bryant and Washington State wing Cedric Coward would all be strong fits. They bring shooting and versatility, which is exactly what the current Spurs core lacks. The question: Are any of them worth passing on Harper's ceiling for? Option 4: Trade out of the draft for a star The Spurs might not need another teenager. They already have youth like Wemby, Castle, Vassell, Sochan and a war chest of future picks even after adding Fox. So maybe the next move is to skip the draft entirely and chase a star. Right now, the Giannis whispers persist. They've also been linked to Kevin Durant. Around the league, sources say the Spurs have explored packaging the 14th pick with a player to upgrade the roster. Whether that upgrade is marginal or massive depends on who shakes loose, but it's clear San Antonio isn't waiting around. So if Giannis actually is available, maybe San Antonio's willing to put Harper on the table. Advertisement Option 5: Trade Fox Fox signed up to be Tony Parker to Wembanyama's Tim Duncan. But the Spurs weren't planning on drafting another primary ball-handler months later. Plans change. There's a case to move Fox before he signs a four-year, $229 million extension — or even a cheaper hometown discount deal. He turns 28 later this year. He's made just one playoff appearance. He still doesn't have a reliable jumper. And for a guard who lives off speed, any athletic slippage could get ugly fast. And even if he ages gracefully and ends up being by far the most expensive of three quality shot-creators, he won't come close to having the trade value he holds right now. San Antonio has one last window to sell high. Advertisement Harper, on the other hand, is 19 with real long-term upside. Castle is younger, cheaper and easier to fit in because he's a far better cutter and defender than Fox. It's not as if Fox and Wemby made a great first impression. Granted they ran only 46 pick-and-rolls together, but they scored a measly 0.77 points per play. A full training camp might help, but maybe not if the team's shooting situation doesn't improve. Plus Castle and Harper also need touches. Fox/Wemby simply might not be the high-usage combo the Spurs envisioned. If moving Fox were on the table, the logical targets are the teams that were connected to him at the deadline: Miami Heat: Fox for Duncan Robinson, Haywood Highsmith, Nikola Jović, the No. 20 pick and unprotected firsts in 2030 and 2032. Fox upgrades Miami's point guard spot, while San Antonio gets picks and three shooters, including a young piece in Jović. Brooklyn Nets: Fox for Cam Johnson and draft capital. Johnson spaces the floor and fits the timeline. Houston Rockets: Fox (plus Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley) for Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, the 10th pick and future firsts. FVV gives the Spurs a vet, while Smith would be a fascinating fit next to Wemby. Other playmaking-needy teams like the Bulls, Magic, Suns, and Timberwolves could emerge as dark horses. Phoenix is especially interesting. If the Spurs really want Durant, Fox's salary helps make the math work. Keldon Johnson, Harrison Barnes or Devin Vassell could be added to build a separate bigger deal. Advertisement But there's real risk here. Fox is a known commodity as an All-Star in his prime, capable of carrying an offense, capable of making Wemby's life easier today. Harper is unproven. If his jumper never levels up or his fit with Castle overlaps too much, San Antonio may have traded a sure thing for a question mark. You don't get many chances to pair a young superstar with a reliable point guard who actually wants to be there. If Harper doesn't hit, the Spurs will spend the next five years trying to replace what they already had. When San Antonio traded for Fox, it was trying to make the playoffs. Instead, both Fox and Wemby got hurt. The team cratered. And the lottery gave it an unexpected gift. Don't waste the alien If the Spurs keep loading up on guards with questionable jumpers, they're doing it around a star who should be the gravitational center of the entire offense. Instead, they're building a roster that pulls him to the perimeter while everyone else clogs the lane. Advertisement It's not that Castle, Fox and Harper are bad players. It's that together, they risk becoming a well-intentioned mess. Add inconsistent shooters like Sochan and Johnson, and the Spurs look like a roster that needs less of a tweak and more of an overhaul. Maybe keeping all three guards works. Maybe Castle becomes a league-average shooter, maybe Harper becomes a star and maybe Fox finds his ideal role. But that's a lot of maybes, and this isn't the kind of decision you get to re-do. The Spurs don't just have a top pick. They have a rare opportunity to choose a direction and not waste Wemby's prime untangling a roster that never fit. Advertisement Because we've seen this before. Kevin Garnett in Minnesota. Anthony Davis in New Orleans. Generational bigs held back by years of mismatched rosters and delayed decisions. The cautionary tales are clear. So is the counterexample — and the Spurs know it better than anyone. Tim Duncan's prime was maximized because San Antonio built with precision. Shooting. Defense. Clarity. Manu Ginóbili didn't need the ball to impact the game. Tony Parker could bend defenses without dominating possessions. Everyone fit around Duncan, and San Antonio always evolved with the times as the NBA changed. And because of that, it lasted two decades. Wembanyama deserves that kind of infrastructure. And right now, it feels like the Spurs are building a roster better suited for 2005. But the blueprint has never been clearer: surround your generational star with players who space the floor, make quick decisions and elevate him without always needing the ball to do it. Do that, and Wembanyama changes the sport. Don't, and years from now we'll talk about how the Spurs landed an alien and built a roster that made him look human.
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Giannis Antetokounmpo quashes Bucks trade rumors with passionate NBA Finals comments
If Giannis Antetokounmpo wants a trade off the Milwaukee Bucks in the middle of his prime, he's, quite frankly, doing a terrible job of showing it. As it turns out, a recent report from NBA executives who are skeptical about Antetokounmpo actually requesting a trade from the Bucks this offseason seems to have a lot of credence to it. Look no further than Antetokounmpo's comments in a recent interview with Coast to Coast Brazil. Advertisement While talking about the 2025 NBA Finals featuring the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers, Antetokounmpo waxed poetic. The two-time MVP and 2021 NBA champion maintained that he believes the NBA Finals are uniquely special, and would like to someday soon return there with ... Milwaukee. Oh, huh. That's quite the bombshell to drop in mid-June. 'There are two great teams that got there,' Antetokounmpo said, referring to the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers reaching the 2025 Finals presented by YouTube TV, 'Indiana, with my friend Pascal Siakam, is reaping the rewards, and OKC simply has the MVP [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander]. I'm rooting for good basketball.' 'The Finals are different, I hope to be back soon with the Bucks." Of course, this won't and shouldn't necessarily end any Antetokounmpo trade speculation. Just because Antetokounmpo expresses a desire to stay with the Bucks right now, in this present moment, it doesn't mean he won't change his mind later. Also, after Antetokounmpo's running mate, Damian Lillard, tore his Achilles, the Bucks don't really have a straightforward path to return to the NBA's biggest stage any time soon, barring some unexpected blockbuster moves. But I suppose we shouldn't doubt Antetokounmpo's loyalty to Milwaukee and his trying to be a one-team player for the duration of his career. That's the kind of picture the superstar has painted thus far in his career. He brought the Bucks their first championship in half a century. He's probably the greatest Bucks player of all time. Advertisement It's not too shocking to see him express a desire to stay, even if it might not last long. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Giannis Antetokounmpo likely to return to Bucks after NBA Finals comments
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MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads OKC in Finals, and the Clippers must be cringing
Paul George (left) was acquired by the Clippers from the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019 for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (right) and five first-round draft picks. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times; Nate Billings / Associated Press) It screamed watershed moment, the forever luckless Clippers outfoxing the eternally exalted Lakers for the services of not one, but two superstars. The news stunned the NBA: In a matter of hours, the Clippers had traded for Paul George and signed Kawhi Leonard. Advertisement Six years later, the deal for George is considered tragically lopsided, the Clippers fleeced and forced to watch assets they surrendered lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to within three wins of an NBA championship. The trade wouldn't be looked upon harshly had the Clippers won a championship in the five seasons that George and Leonard played together. But the deepest the team advanced was the Western Conference finals in 2021. George left as a free agent last offseason, signing with the Philadelphia 76ers. Leonard has played in only 266 of 472 games with the Clippers because of injuries. The Clippers paid George $195.9 million and have paid Leonard $194.6 million — with Leonard under contract for another two years and $100.3 million. Read more: Plaschke: I'm fighting Parkinson's one punch at a time Advertisement Meanwhile, one of the two players shipped to the Thunder along with five first-round draft picks, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, has blossomed into the NBA's most valuable player. And the 2022 draft pick acquired from the Clippers was used to select Jalen Williams, a rising star who averaged 21.6 points a game this season. Both are bargains. Gilgeous-Alexander — known as SGA — was paid just $13.5 million his first three seasons with the Thunder before signing a five-year, $173-million contract that will take him through the 2026-27 season. Williams has made $13.7 million in three seasons and will be paid $6.6 million next season, the last of his rookie contract. And it's a deal that just keeps giving — to the Thunder, who as a result of the trade get the Nos. 15 and 24 picks in this year's draft and the Clippers' first-round pick in 2026. Asked to evaluate the deal moments after the Clippers defeated the Thunder in January 2024, George grudgingly acknowledged that the pendulum had swung toward Oklahoma City. Advertisement 'I just think both sides won,' he said. "I did think it was quite a lot that the Clippers were willing to give up. ... When that trade first happened, we knew Shai was going to be really, really good, but he's special." George sighed and continued: "I guess in a way, Oklahoma won that trade with the picks and future MVP, but both sides won.' Read more: Markazi: A behind the scenes look at how the Clippers won Kawhi Leonard and Paul George The fact is, the Clippers couldn't say no to the deal. Why? Because Leonard was a free agent coming off an NBA title with Toronto in which he was Finals MVP, and he was weighing offers from the Lakers and Raptors as well as the Clippers. Advertisement Signing Leonard was paramount, and he had given the Clippers something of an ultimatum: Trade for a star and I'm yours. Otherwise, it's hello Lakers. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer needed to be convinced that giving up the slew of draft picks was a smart move. Leonard signing with the Lakers was an unthinkable outcome to Clippers coach Doc Rivers, and he jokingly told Ballmer the Clippers would need to relocate to Seattle if that happened. 'Steve Ballmer was nervous about the picks,' Rivers told The Times in 2019. 'I said, 'Steve, you keep saying six picks for Paul George is insane, but you're saying it wrong. It's not six for Paul; it's six for Paul and Kawhi. So three for each. I would do that.' You have to look at it in those terms.' Knowing the Clippers desperately needed to consummate the deal, Thunder general manager Sam Presti demanded SGA — who was coming off an impressive rookie campaign — respected forward Danilo Gallinari and the draft picks. Advertisement Unforeseen was that SGA would rapidly rise from promising youngster to foundational piece to perhaps the best player in the NBA. He led the league in scoring this season with 32.7 points a game. He put up 34 points, eight assists and five rebounds in the Thunder's win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of the Finals on Sunday. In Game 1, a stunning Pacers comeback was helped by two late missed shots by SGA. Still, he scored 38 points, and his 72 in his first two NBA Finals games is a league record. Read more: Trouble finds ex-NBA star Shawn Kemp once again, and he may serve time for it 'I'm being myself,' Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters. 'I don't think I tried to reinvent the wheel or step up to the plate with a different mindset. Just try to attack the game the right way. I think I've done a pretty good job of that so far." Advertisement Through 18 playoff games, SGA is averaging 30.4 points, 6.8 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals. Only Michael Jordan and LeBron James have recorded those numbers during a playoff run of 16 or more games. None of this is a complete surprise. SGA provided the Clippers with opportunities to feel seller's remorse soon after the trade. On Dec. 22, 2019, he scored 32 points with five assists and two steals in a 118–112 Thunder victory. Two years later almost to the day, he made a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Thunder a 104–103 win. Next is closing out the Finals and delivering a title to Oklahoma City — something that has proven elusive for the Clippers, the oldest franchise in North American professional sports to have never played in a championship game. "This is where we are, you can't go back in the past," SGA said. "You can only make the future better. That's what I'm focused on.' Advertisement The Clippers can only do the same. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
