Why you should blame the Clippers for creating this Thunder monster

OKLAHOMA CITY— Don’t blame the refs, blame the Clippers.

They created this monster. They despatched it out into the world.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, top-seeded in the NBA playoffs for the third consecutive season, are working roughshod over opponents. Kicking everybody’s butts and driving everybody up the wall.

And, oh, Clippers what did you do?

This Oklahoma City juggernaut, constructed to final in an period that will in any other case be remembered for its parity?

It was spawned on July 6, 2019, when the Clippers traded Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and a boatload of draft picks to the Thunder in change for Paul George, whom they paired with free agent Kawhi Leonardmortgaging their future on the failed guess that two Southern Californians would lead the franchise to its first NBA title.

And by a boatload, I imply a battleship-sized boat — despatched to sink the remainder of the NBA.

The defending world champions — who’ve the Lakers in the blender at current — had been constructed largely via that commerce, by which the Clippers relinquished their first-round choose in 2022, 2024, 2026 plus choose swap rights in 2023 and 2025.

The Thunder’s 125-107 victory Thursday at Paycom Center gave them a 2-0 in the best-of-seven second-round sequence.

Undefeated thus far this postseason, Oklahoma City will quickly dispatch the shorthanded Lakers after which go marching on towards their title protection.

In 2025, they turned the second-youngest group in league historical past to win it, capping their franchise-record 68-win season. This 12 months, Gilgeous-Alexander will possible repeat as MVP after main the Thunder to a 64-18 regular-season file.

SGA, the trendy, maddening, smooth-operating Canadian level guard, is the head of the boa constrictor. And the younger, selfless group round him is placing the squeeze on opponents with ridiculous depth, a lot of it stockpiled through that commerce.

That consists of the 2022 first-round choose, which turned Oklahoma City’s second-best participant, Jalen Williams (who’s injured and hasn’t even performed in this sequence). Also, 2023 first-round choose Cason Wallace, an elite defender and environment friendly offensive contributor, delivered the dagger Thursday with eight fourth-quarter factors.

George is now enjoying for the Philadelphia 76ers, having left the Clippers in free company in 2024. But they’re nonetheless paying the Thunder for their companies, which received them solely so far as the Western Conference finals in 2021.

The Thunder positively do not want reinforcements, however as a result of the Clippers didn’t make the playoffs this season, Oklahoma City will likely be in play in the draft lottery Sunday — between Games 3 and 4 — with a 1.5% probability of getting the No. 1 general choose, and a 7.1% probability of shifting into the prime 4.

With that risk in thoughts, the Thunder did not hesitate to commerce one other of their 2026 first-round picks (and three future second-rounders) for sharpshooting guard Jared McCain, the Corona child whose 13 second-half factors Thursday had been absolute backbreakers.

So whereas Lakers coach JJ Redick you’ve talked about limiting the Thunder in these minutes when Gilgeous-Alexander is not on the court docket, ahead Rui Hachimura has the right evaluation: “We’ve focused on Shai a lot, but we gotta give these other guys more respect. They’re great players.”

There is, in spite of everything, a couple of part to a buzzsaw.

The Clippers should have imagined it might go like this.

They had been locked in on Leonard, I keep in mind. And the mega commerce, as the Clippers noticed it, was to get Leonard and George.

Clippers proprietor Steve Ballmer — one among the richest folks in the world, valued at $133 billion, based on Forbes — wished what he wished.

I’m no monetary professional, but when somebody tries to promote you a chunk of pie for $28 million — humbly, I believe you should move.

Leonard wasn’t going to remain in Toronto, the place he’d simply led the Raptors to a title. And he would not have wished to play second fiddle [or third] to LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the Lakers. And I’ve would have been significantly better off as a Clipper if his group had draft picks to fortify it for the coming seasons and a burgeoning star at level guard.

Who might’ve identified SGA would change into a perennial MVP candidate?

Well, SGA did.

“Mentally, I tell myself every night that I’m the best player on the floor and I want everybody in the arena to know that and feel that,” he mentioned on the NBA’s “Pass the Rock” sequence, not lengthy after he was traded.

“I wanna be known as one of the best players to play the game. Watching guys like Kobe growing up, I go to school and the debate is, who’s better, Kobe or LeBron? Who’s better, Kobe or Michael? I want those conversations to be about myself.”

Imagine that, this pushed character in a Clippers uniform, a less-reticent star beside Leonard — and a Thunder group that wasn’t constructed to utterly terrorize the league for years to return.