Trade news; Paul George trade, analysis, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, five

Three years on from the Paul George trade and there’s a serious question to be posed – was it one of the biggest overpays in NBA history?

Take a deep breath before you read this one.

The Clippers sent out an unprecedented haul to acquire George to join forces with Kawhi Leonard and form a new super team in LA:

-Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

-Danilo Gallinari

-Five first-round draft picks (four unprotected)

-Rights to swap two other first round picks

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The historic trade stunned the NBA world given Leonard, who was a free agent at the time, was expected to either re-sign with the Toronto Raptors or team up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis at the Lakers, and George had penned a four-year extension with the Thunder the year prior.

But behind the scenes, Leonard had plotted for the Clippers to poach George to play alongside him. So it’s important to note that it was a double coup, and without trading for George, they likely wouldn’t have gotten Leonard.

After the extraordinary swap, veteran NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith labelled it a “power move of epic proportions” from the Clippers.

In fact, the move was so very radical that NBA superstar Damian Lillard didn’t believe what he was hearing.

“I didn’t believe it at first when my cousin told me,” NBA superstar Damian Lillard said on ESPN at the time.

“Then he followed with ‘and Kawhi is going there too.’ I was like, ‘that’s not true.’ I didn’t believe it.”

Of course, hindsight is a wonderful thing, and it did come during a shift in the NBA’s trade landscape when teams started sending out inordinate packages of draft picks to get superstars.

But three years on, the trade is looking worse and worse for the Clippers.

Let’s unpack this one some more…

The fact that Gilgeous-Alexander, who was coming off a promising 2018/2019 rookie season, was involved in the deal is what really makes it hard reading for Clippers fans.

You could now genuinely argue Gilgeous-Alexander is a better player than George alone amid a spectacular season from the Thunder guard as arguably the most promising player in the NBA to build a team around.

He’s averaged 31.1 points per game, 4.7 rebounds, six assists, 1.8 steals and 1.2 blocks while shooting an insanely efficient 50 per cent from the field and 92 per cent from the line through the first quarter of the season to emerge as a genuine All-Star and All-NBA calibre of player.

If the Thunder had won a few more games, the Canadian would even be up there in the MVP discussion. Of course, Gilgeous-Alexander’s dominant individual play carried OKC to several wins early in the season.

It’s the sort of quantum leap we’ve seen from the likes of Ja Morant, Jayston Tatum and…