The Clippers win the championship? George is still in the Thunder? What will happen if Xiaoka didn t join the Clippers League back then?

(This article was published on September 5, and the author is Andy Bailey, a reporter from the open-air stands. The content of the article does not represent the translator's opinion.)

If you haven't been online in the last few days, you may have missed a big news about Leonard by The Athletic reporter Pablo Torre on his podcast show. In short, he revealed through a large number of recent court documents and testimony from potentially involved people, the Clippers offered Leonard a $7 million "name job" and accused the team of possible bypassing the NBA's salary cap rules when introducing the star player. Shortly after the

report was released, the league issued a statement to ESPN's famous reporter Shams, which was simple and clear: "We have noticed media reports about the Clippers this morning and will investigate it." The story could have a huge impact. The most famous case of salary cap evasion occurred more than 20 years ago, when the Timberwolves were severely punished for violations, including the loss of the draft pick, the cancellation of Joe Smith's contract and the ban on the team's owner and general manager.

However, we are not in a hurry to discuss the possible punishments the Clippers face. Instead, we just want to ask, "If?" More specifically, "What would happen if Leonard didn't join the Clippers in the summer of 2019?" Which other dominoes will still stand? How much will the history of the alliance change?

In many ways, his decision in the free market was a huge turning point. If he didn't make that choice, the following could be a significant change that follows.

1. The Raptors may defend the championship

Leonard played for only one season with the Raptors, but led the team to win the championship. He averaged 30.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.7 steals in the playoffs and was awarded the MVP in the Finals.

As the biggest free agent on the market at the time, Leonard's return to the Raptors seemed to make more sense than any other potential destination. The core players such as Lori, Siakam, Anunobi and Ibaka have not left the team. The Warriors who ruled the league for the past three years are facing disintegration, and Anthony Davis has not yet joined the Lakers and James to join forces.

If Leonard had chosen to renew his contract with the Raptors, they could have been a strong contender for the defending champion. Even facing the Lakers who finally won the championship, the Raptors have a chance to beat their opponents in a seven-game series.

Now the league has entered an era of balanced strength (no team has successfully defended the title since the Warriors in 2018), and this situation may come early.

2, Siakam and Anunobi may stay in the Raptors for longer

After Leonard left, the Raptors remained as competitive as possible, but in the 2023-24 season, they finally traded Anunobi and Siakam.

If Leonard stays, at least one of these two people may still be on the team. Not only will this give the Raptors a chance to compete for multiple titles, it may also prevent two other Eastern teams from being promoted to championship contenders.

During one and a half seasons with Anunobi for the Knicks, the team's net efficiency increased by 7.5 points when he was on the court. The net efficiency value Siakam brought to the Pacers was increased to 7.6 points. He is obviously the second best player for the Pacers. While Anunobi's position in the Knicks is not as important as Siakam at the Pacers, his defensive and three-point shooting ability makes him one of the Knicks' most influential players.

Neither the Knicks nor the Pacers are what they are now without their former Raptors players, they would not be able to reach their current level.

3, the Lakers can form a super team

Shortly after signing with the Clippers, Leonard told the media that he was "very close to" joining the Lakers.

If the Lakers could successfully sign Leonard at that time and still complete the Anthony Davis deal, then Los Angeles would have the next super team in the league.

At that time, LeBron was 34 years old, and Davis was at the peak of his career. Leonard just experienced a Jordan-style playoff performance and finally won the championship. A combination of

does not mean that it will definitely bring a championship, but this combination will definitely have a chance. Although Davis and LeBron won a championship together in 2020, the Lakers' performance in the following years was full of disappointment.

If the Lakers could have had one of the best two-way wingers in history at the time, playing alongside James and Davis, their winning window would have been longer.

4. Doncic will not leave the Mavericks

Due to the Lakers' multiple disappointments, Doncic's trade has become a part of the domino effect, which is considered one of the most shocking and incomprehensible deals in NBA history.

If the Lakers compete for the championship for many years under the leadership of LeBron, Anthony Davis and Leonard, the communication between Pelinka and Nico Harrison about Doncic may never begin.

Harrison may think, perhaps correctly, that the Lakers will not be interested in trading their defensive core.

However, in almost all cases, it makes sense to the Lakers for Davis to trade Doncic. But even in Harrison's mind, the idea of ​​this exchange may not form unless he has some sign that Davis can be traded.

5, the Clippers will get another wing player

If Leonard does not choose the Clippers, they may turn their energy and resources to other players. Given Durant's brilliant achievements before 2019 and his success after Butler, the Clippers' selection of either of these two in 2019's heavy signings could result in better results. Whether it is Durant or Butler, plus the group of role players who helped the Clippers achieve a record of 48 wins and 34 losses in the 2018-19 season, it may make the Clippers a championship team.

The Clippers before Leonard joined, Tobias Harris and Garlinari averaged more than 40 points per game. Lu Williams won the Best Sixth Man Award for his tacit cooperation with Harrell. Most importantly, that team also had a rookie named Alexander who had already shown great potential at the time.

If SGA can grow with Durant or Butler, he will almost certainly become a superstar as well.

6. George will stay in the Thunder

In 2019, Leonard's joining the Clippers was a bundled deal. He admitted this at that press conference.

"I almost signed for other teams, which was really close," he said. "But when the Clippers offered a chance to play with George, the decision became simple, and I immediately agreed. I said, let's get started."

The deal that sent SGA and other assets to the Thunder for George would not have happened without Leonard's joining. Westbrook may also stay in the Thunder for a while.

In this way, the comprehensive reconstruction plan that ultimately helped the Thunder win the championship in 2025 will also be postponed, and the SGA-based reconstruction plan is likely to never be realized.

7. The Thunder will not win the championship

If Alexander is not exchanged for it, it is almost impossible for the Thunder to win the finals this year.

General Manager Presti seemed to have done every little move just right, but without SGA and Jaylen Williams (selected with a draft pick sent by the Clippers), Oklahoma City wouldn't have had this championship parade.

SGA became the regular season and finals MVP in the 2024-25 season, while Jaylen Williams averaged 21.4 points and 4.8 assists in the playoffs.

They are the core of possibly the fastest and most successful reconstruction in the history of the alliance.

8. Alexander will still be elected MVP

The title does not mean, "If Alexander was not in the Thunder, he might not be able to get the MVP", but rather, his technology and self-driven may allow him to win this honor no matter which team he is on.

Obviously, the Thunder made a big contribution to his growth, but he may have a similar development trajectory even in the Clippers. Therefore, this post mainly discusses that Leonard and George's MVP might be different if there is no signing a deal with Leonard and George. Maybe it would take him longer to achieve this achievement when he has someone like Durant or Butler sharing the scoring opportunity.

But there is no doubt that SGA is one of the best defenders the league has seen since Jordan. And a talented player of his level usually gets the MVP recognition at least once.

9. The Clippers will win the championship. If SGA has a similar development trend in the Clippers and the Clippers have Jaylen Williams, then it is very likely that they will win the championship this summer.

The pair is expected to become one of the best duoes in recent years. Obviously, they are more reliable than Leonard and George.

Although they helped the Clippers reach the Western Conference Finals in 2021, injuries have been plaguing them, even in 2021, Leonard was out due to injury at the end of the season.

While management could not foresee this when signing George and Leonard in 2019, the SGA and that draft pick were clearly a safer option.

10. Leonard's basketball legacy will become different

If you are an old NBA fan and still remember the early stages of Leonard's career, then his development in recent years may surprise you.

When he was at the Spurs, he seemed very humble and low-key, and could almost be said to be the most inconspicuous of any NBA superstar. His attitude towards the game is almost mechanized, his only goal is to win, and nothing else matters.

However, despite his two Finals MVPs and two Defensive Player of the Year honors, future NBA experts may first focus on the recent allegations of salary cap evasion he has involved, as well as his controversial departure.

The way he left the Spurs was not decent. Torre once again raised the question about his quick departure from the Raptors. And the story about "public positions" and its possible Clippers may ultimately define his evaluation on the team.

For players like Leonard who have achieved redefinition of their own basketball legacy for their own reasons is really regrettable.

Original text: Andy Bailey

Compiled by: JayChan