Swanson: Blame the Clippers for creating this Thunder monster
CITY OF OKLAHOMA — Don’t blame the refs, blame the Clippers.
They created this monster. They sent him out into the world.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, top seed in the NBA playoffs for the third consecutive season, are ignoring their opponents. Kicking everyone’s butts and pushing everyone to the wall.
And, oh, Clippers, what have you done?
This Oklahoma City juggernaut, built to last in an era that would otherwise be remembered for its parity?
He was born on July 6, 2019, when the Clippers traded Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and a boatload of picks to the Thunder in exchange for Paul George, whom they paired with free agent Kawhi Leonard, mortgaging their future on the failed gamble that two Southern Californians would lead the franchise to its first NBA title.
And by boatload, I mean a boat the size of a battleship – sent to sink the rest of the NBA.
The reigning NBA champions who were built largely on this trade – in which the Clippers gave up their first-round pick in 2022, 2024, 2026 as well as pick swap rights in 2023 and 2025 – currently have the Lakers in the mixer.
The Thunder’s 125-107 victory Thursday at Paycom Center gave them a 2-0 mark in the best-of-seven series in the second round.
Undefeated so far in the playoffs, Oklahoma City will soon eliminate the short-handed Lakers and then move on to defend last year’s NBA championship.
In 2025, they became the second-youngest team in league history to win it, capping their franchise-record 68-win season. This year, Gilgeous-Alexander will likely return as MVP after leading the Thunder to a 64-18 regular season record.
SGA, the sleek, maddening, smooth-running Canadian ringleader, is the leader of the boa constrictor. And the young, selfless squad around him puts pressure on their opponents with ridiculous depth, much of it stockpiled via that trade.
That includes 2022 first-round pick turned Oklahoma City’s second-best player, Jalen Williams (who is injured and didn’t even play in this series). Additionally, 2023 first-round pick Cason Wallace, an elite defender and efficient offensive contributor, threw the dagger Thursday with eight fourth-quarter points.
Thunder guard Cason Wallace, right, defends Lakers forward LeBron James, left, during the second half of Game 2.
(Nate Billings/Associated Press)
George now plays for the Philadelphia 76ers, after leaving the Clippers in free agency in 2024. But they are always paying the Thunder for his services, which only took them as far as the Western Conference Finals in 2021.
The Thunder certainly don’t need any reinforcements, but with the Clippers failing to make the playoffs this season, Oklahoma City will be in play Sunday in the draft lottery — between Games 3 and 4 — with a 1.5 percent chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick and a 7.1 percent chance of landing in the top four.
With that possibility in mind, the Thunder didn’t hesitate to trade another of their 2026 first-round picks (and three future second-round picks) for sharpshooter Jared McCain, the kid from Corona whose 13 second-half points Thursday were absolute backbreakers.
So while Lakers coach JJ Redick has talked about limiting the Thunder in the minutes Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t on the court, forward Rui Hachimura has the right assessment: “We focused a lot on Shai, but we have to give more respect to these other guys. They’re great players.”
After all, a circular saw has several components.
The clippers should I would have imagined it could happen like this.
They were locked in on Leonard, I remember that. And the mega-trade, as the Clippers saw it, was to get Leonard And George.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer – one of the richest people in the world, valued at $133 billion, according to Forbes – wanted what he wanted.
I’m not a financial expert, but if someone is trying to sell you a piece of the pie for $28 million, humbly, I think you should pass.
Leonard wasn’t going to stay in Toronto, where he had just led the Raptors to a title. And he wouldn’t have wanted to play the second role [or third] to LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the Lakers. And he would have been much better as a Clipper if his team had draft picks to fortify it for future seasons and a burgeoning star at point guard.
Who could have imagined that SGA would become a perennial MVP candidate?
Well, SGA did it.
“Mentally, I tell myself every night that I’m the best player on the court and I want everyone in the arena to know that and feel that,” he said on the NBA’s “Pass the Rock” series, shortly after being traded.
“I want to be known as one of the best players to play this game. Watching guys like Kobe grow up, I go to school and the debate is who is better, Kobe or LeBron? Who is better, Kobe or Michael? I want those conversations to be about myself.”
Imagine that, that driven personality in a Clippers uniform, a less reluctant star next to Leonard — and a Thunder team that wasn’t built to absolutely terrorize the league for years to come.
