A trade for Paul George
The LA Clippers promised so much and delivered so little. Street lights over spotlights, Kawhi is the King of LA. The Clippers are here to take over. Another day, another LA Clippers early playoff exit.
Compounded by the Los Angeles Lakers winning the title, things look even worse for the Clippers. At the heart of the Clipper’s failure to make it to the next round of the playoffs was Playoff P himself, Paul George.
PG is unquestionably an extraordinary talent but he crapped the bed in the playoffs and very much was a key cog in the Clippers failure. At this stage, Paul George is in a really bad position (subscription required).
With Doc Rivers gone and Ty Lue now officially the head coach, it might be time for Lue to make his stamp on the organization and move on from Paul George. With the Clippers doing damage control, now might be the perfect time for the Golden State Warriors to make an audacious big to land the former MVP candidate.
With Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, Kevon Looney, and the second overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. it might just be enough for Clippers to move on from a headache they no longer need.
The Clippers get a player in Andrew Wiggins who averaged virtually identical stats in points, rebounds, and assists to Paul George this season, they also land two young prospects in Poole and Looney, who while neither is a starter, they provide quality depth off the bench for the Clippers.
The real prize is the second overall pick.
The Clippers could land a franchise center in James Wiseman, a franchise point guard in LaMelo Ball, or a franchise shooting guard in Anthony Edwards. On a rookie deal for 4 plus seasons.
They don’t get a player who is as capable as Paul George on both ends of the floor but the Clippers get significantly deeper. The Warriors get a player who when in form and fit is one of the best two-way superstars in the NBA.
You put Paul George around the likes of Klay Thompson and Steph Curry and you take an enormous amount of pressure off George to be the first or even second lead scorer on a team. The Warriors would be perfectly happy if George averaged 20 points per game and was back to his best on defense. A defense that includes Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Paul George would be a devastating trio.