Big swing trades by the OKC Thunder and Raptors for Paul George and Kawhi Leonard ironically ended with both moving to the Clippers. Given neither resulted in long term stays were the risk-reward moves worth it?
Last summer the move by the OKC Thunder (a year prior) to trade for Paul George was deemed a resounding success. Especially when General Manager Sam Presti got the star to re-sign. George didn’t even give the Lakers a meeting citing unfinished business and his desire to play with Russell Westbrook and win in Oklahoma City.
Likewise, Raptors GM Masai Ujiri emulated Presti in perhaps an even chancier move, swinging for the fences by trading for Kawhi Leonard (who played in just nine games in 2017-18) on a potential one-year rental. In Ujiri’s case, his risky move plus subsequent trades paid immediate dividends when the Raptors became the 2019 champions.
In both cases, these huge risk-reward chances the Thunder and Raptors made were considered gutsy and worthwhile. Moreover, many expected other teams would try to emulate Sam Presti and Masai Ujiri – particularly small market teams.
Which just goes to show you how quickly the league shifted gears both in terms of the above being the trend to follow and likewise how quickly the Association switched based on what has occurred in free agency and in particular recently with both players involved in these risks ending up on the same team (Clippers).