The Oklahoma City Thunder finished the long Paul George trade return on Tuesday night when they used the No. 12 pick in the 2026 NBA draft to select Aday Mara. What began as a blockbuster on July 6, 2019, is finally closed on Oklahoma City’s side.
For readers searching Paul George Clippers Trade Rumors now, the reason is simple: the last draft piece landed, and it came after years of pick movement that shaped the Thunder’s roster. The original deal also brought Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who arrived after a solid rookie year with the Clippers, and that return has since become the backbone of a team that won the 2025 NBA Finals.
The trade looked expensive for the Clippers from the start because they reportedly made it knowing Kawhi Leonard was only going to sign if Paul George was added. But the full ledger is hard to dismiss now. Danilo Gallinari spent one season in Oklahoma City, averaging 18.7 points and 5.2 rebounds in 62 games in 2019-20, the Thunder made the playoffs as the No. 5 seed, and the asset chain kept moving until the pick used on Mara finally completed the package.
That chain produced more than one star. The No. 12 pick in the 2022 draft became Jalen Williams, and he joined Gilgeous-Alexander as the two best players on the Thunder team that won the 2025 NBA Finals. Gilgeous-Alexander then followed that title with back-to-back MVP awards in 2024-25 and 2025-26, a stretch that makes the original trade look less like a gamble than the foundation of a contender.
The Clippers got three All-Star seasons from George during his five-year tenure, and they went 233-157 with him on the roster. They also won three playoff series with George and Kawhi Leonard, all in their first two seasons together, and reached the Western Conference Finals in 2020-21 before losing to the Phoenix Suns in six games. Leonard missed the final eight games of that run because of a partially torn ACL, which kept the partnership from reaching the peak it seemed built for.
George left the Clippers in the summer of 2024 to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, but the story of the trade did not end there. One more piece is still in play for the Thunder: a 2027 protected first-round pick from the San Antonio Spurs. Until that pick is resolved, the trade is complete in every practical sense for Oklahoma City, but not quite finished in the record books.
Mara’s selection gave the Thunder the final piece they could control. The only thing left is the one they cannot, and that is what still gives the last sentence of this trade its weight.
