When Paul George signed a four-year deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder last summer, he seemed to be making a commitment to the franchise that he was there to stay. George had an opportunity to return home to play for the Los Angeles Lakers, but instead elected to return to Oklahoma City.
So Thunder general manager Sam Presti could easily have been vindictive or disgruntled when it became clear that George wanted out. Instead, he swung a massive deal with the Los Angeles Clippers that netted a record number of future first-round picks in addition to two quality players. As Ethan Strauss of The Athletic writes, Presti's discipline and execution of was lauded by executives around the league.
Presti got high marks for turning PG into Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and a historically large amount of draft picks from the Clippers.
“I think Oklahoma City and what they got, as good as he is, they got a ton,” said one Eastern Conference GM of the George trade. “If you’re going to make the decision that’s where you’re going, they took full advantage.”
Strauss labeled the trade as one of the best moves of the summer. George had the best season of his career, but the return that Presti and the Thunder got was massive.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made the All-Rookie Second Team and looks like a very promising guard in the NBA. Meanwhile, Gallinari is one of the most underrated wing scorers in the league. Then of course, there are all the draft picks that Presti accrued — a stockpile which he added to when he dealt Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets.
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