Clippers, Sixers Demonstrating The Risks Of Trading Distant NBA Draft Picks

In 2019, the Los Angeles Clippers traded Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and five future first-round picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Paul George. The following offseason, the Philadelphia 76ers traded Al Horford and a protected 2025 first-round pick to the Thunder for Danny Green.

Both teams have since grown to deeply regret those respective decisions.

As the NBA’s trade market begins to heat up this year, teams might consider trading distant first-round picks for players who could help their short-term outlook. The Clippers and Sixers are emerging as cautionary tales about why other teams should think twice before doing that.

The Mistake That Still Haunts The Clippers

Gilgeous-Alexander evolved into a megastar following his trade to OKC, earning three straight All-NBA nods over the past three seasons. He also was named the league’s MVP last year and guided the Thunder to their first-ever championship in franchise history. Meanwhile, the Thunder landed star forward Jalen Williams with one of their five picks from the Clippers.

The bounty from that trade isn’t over yet, either. The Clippers owe their fully unprotected 2026 first-round pick to the Thunder, and OKC has the right to swap 2027 first-round picks with them as well. Seeing as the Thunder figure to be selecting toward the bottom of the first round from now until approximately the heat death of the universe, the NBA can likely go ahead and pencil in that pick swap now.

The Clippers gave up that haul for George because they needed to land a co-star to convince star forward Kawhi Leonard to sign with them as a free agent in 2019. George and Leonard proceeded to guide the Clippers to four playoff appearances in their five seasons together in L.A., including the Clippers’ first-ever trip to the Western Conference Finals, but they wound up winning only three playoff series in total. OKC won four last year alone.

The Clippers lost George in free agency during the 2024 offseason—to the Sixers, ironically enough—although they kept their heads above water and finished 50-32 last season. They’ve gotten off to a disappointing 5-15 start this year, though, in large part because they boast the NBA’s third-worst defense.

There’s still time for the Clippers to turn their season around. But if the season ended today, they’d be going into the draft lottery tied for the fifth-highest odds to win the No. 1 overall pick. No matter where that pick falls, it’s heading to OKC.

The Clippers also have salary-cap-circumvention allegations looming large over them. If the NBA determines that they did circumvent the salary cap to pay Leonard more money than they were allowed to, they could face steep penalties, including the loss of multiple draft picks and/or the voiding of Leonard’s contract. That could impact the quality of the pick swap available to OKC in 2027, too.

How The Sixers Narrowly Averted Disaster

The Sixers don’t owe nearly as much draft compensation to OKC as the Clippers did, but they still found themselves in grave danger of conveying a premium pick last season.

The Sixers signed Horford to a four-year, $109 million contract as a free agent in 2019, but he and star center Joel Embiid struggled to mesh during his lone season in Philadelphia. To undo that mistake, the Sixers shipped him and a top-six-protected 2025 first-round pick to OKC for Danny Green, who had already won championships with the San Antonio Spurs (2014-15), Toronto Raptors (2018-19) and Los Angeles Lakers (2019-20).

Green filled his usual three-and-D role for the Sixers during his two seasons in Philadelphia, but they wound up trading him and a late 2022 first-round pick for De’Anthony Melton. Melton spent two seasons in Philly before the Sixers allowed him to walk as a free agent.

So, by the time 2024 rolled around—one year before they owed their pick to OKC—they had nothing to show for the Horford trade. In fact, they were down an additional first-round pick courtesy of the trade for Melton.

Heading into last season, it didn’t seem as though that would matter for the Sixers. They were widely proclaimed as one of the NBA’s biggest offseason winners after they lured George away from the Clippers. However, injuries sidelined both Embiid and George for extended time last season, and the rest of the roster couldn’t keep the Sixers afloat in their absence. The Sixers wound up finishing 24-58, their worst record since the “Process” years in the mid-2010s.

The Sixers entered the draft lottery with the fifth-best odds of winning the No. 1 overall pick. They had a roughly 64% chance of keeping their first-round pick and a 36% chance of falling to No. 7 or later, which would have forced them to send it to OKC. When two teams behind them jumped in the order, they were in grave danger of conveying their pick. However, they wound up landing the No. 3 overall pick, which meant their obligation to OKC deferred until 2026.

The Sixers are off to a 10-8 start this season, although injuries are already starting to mount for them again. Embiid has played in only played in six games and has missed the last nine due to right knee soreness. George missed the first 12 games of the season to recover from an offseason knee procedure. VJ Edgecombe, whom they selected at No. 3, has missed the past three with a calf strain. Kelly Oubre Jr. (knee), Trendon Watford (adductor) and Adem Bona (ankle) have all been nursing injuries as well, while Andre Drummond just left Friday’s win over the Brooklyn Nets early due to a knee contusion.

As long as Tyrese Maxey continues to play at an All-NBA-caliber level, the Sixers might not be in danger of sending a high-end pick to the Thunder this season. But if they wind up missing the playoffs, they could owe OKC a late lottery pick. That would still be a major blow for a team that will be constrained by the George and Embiid contracts for the next few seasons.

Outside of the Thunder, championship windows are expected to become shorter in the NBA’s second-apron era. That makes it even more risky for teams to trade distant picks, as the Clippers and Sixers are learning the hard way this season. Other teams should be paying close attention as they weigh whether to follow suit.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

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