The Clippers’ Trade for Paul George is Officially Complete

Since Friday night, when the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George acquisitions were first broken by Chris Haynes and Adrian Wojnarowski, Clippers fans have been waiting with bated breath for the deals to become official. As hours turned into days, worry started to creep in with some fans — was there an issue with the PG trade? Was Kawhi getting cold feet? Rest assured, Clips fans, as Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are both now Clippers for real, although Kawhi’s deal is different than originally reported.

There was also some speculation that there was a delay in the deals because the Clippers were trying to work something else into them. It’s possible that was the case, but if so, such moves appear to have fallen apart, as the Paul George trade remains the same as it was Friday night: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, the Clippers 1st round picks in 2022, 2024, and 2026 pick swaps in 2023 and 2025, and the Heat picks in 2021 and 2023.

With the two big deals done, expect the signings of Ivica Zubac, Pat Beverley, Rodney McGruder, and JaMychal Green to become official as well. Per our own Lucas Hann, that leaves the Clippers with just under $3 million in cap space — just enough for a center or point guard on the veteran minimum. Most of the players on this list are still available, but it’s an unexciting bunch. Of them, I still think Joakim Noah is the best fit, though a point guard is probably a more pressing need.

The Clippers could also still pull off another trade (Andre Iguodala?), though things have mostly been quiet on that score. Then again, the theme of this Clippers’ front office is secrecy, so who knows? Regardless, Paul George now joins Kawhi Leonard on the Clippers, and the Clips are now full contenders for the 2020 NBA championship. Can the regular season start already?