Danilo Gallinari didn’t hold back when he revisited the 2019 blockbuster that sent Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Los Angeles Clippers. On the A Cresta Alta podcast, he aimed his criticism squarely at Kawhi Leonard, arguing that the former Clippers star should have faced a far bigger punishment and that Leonard’s actions altered the path of his own NBA career.
“He changed the trajectory of my career and put me in a difficult situation by sending me away from Los Angeles. What happened to my NBA career wasn’t decided by a general manager or an owner, but by a player who decided that team wasn’t good enough and wanted something else.
He should give that money to charity. He should pay all $50 million, not just $700,000.”
Gallinari was referring to the $700,000 fine Leonard received after the salary cap circumvention investigation into the Clippers. In Gallinari’s view, that penalty was nowhere near enough, and he said Leonard should donate the full $50 million salary to charity instead.
The trade, of course, was part of the Clippers’ push to build around Leonard after he arrived fresh off a championship and Finals MVP with the Toronto Raptors. Leonard wanted another star alongside him, and the Clippers answered by bringing in George. Gallinari and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were among the pieces sent out in the deal.
That’s the reality role players face when a team gets a shot at a superstar. The front office makes the call, the roster gets reshaped, and someone else has to move on.
And in Gallinari’s case, the story didn’t end with his exit from Los Angeles. He had just posted the best numbers of his NBA career with the Clippers, averaging 19.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while shooting 46.3% from the field and 43.3% from three.
He stayed productive in Oklahoma City too, putting up 18.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists on 43.4% shooting overall and 40.6% from deep. The Thunder made the playoffs before he left the following offseason.
He also wasn’t left staring at a financial setback. Gallinari had signed a three-year, $64.7 million deal with the Clippers, then followed that with a three-year, $61.4 million contract with the Atlanta Hawks after one season in Oklahoma City.
His career did eventually tail off, but that came with age and injuries in the background. By then, he was already in his thirties, which makes the idea that one trade several years earlier derailed everything a tough sell.
There’s also a difference between Leonard helping shape the Clippers’ roster and Leonard personally sending Gallinari out the door. Leonard’s push for another star set the move in motion, but the Clippers’ front office was the one that worked out and completed the deal.
Gallinari’s frustration with player power is easy to understand. Getting moved because another player wants the roster changed can’t feel good.
Still, saying Leonard changed his career is one thing. Saying he derailed it goes a step too far when Gallinari kept producing, reached the playoffs, and landed another contract worth more than $60 million soon after.
In Other News...
Clippers Finally End A Damaging Saga With Serious Fallout Ahead
The Clippers have finally reached the point where the off-court drama has turned into a settled punishment, with the NBAs investigation into salary cap circumvention now producing real consequences for the franchise. Along with the leagues ruling, team owner Steve Ballmer issued a statement apologizing for how the matter unfolded and stressing his commitment to the organizations future, a notable step after a stretch of uncertainty that had lingered over the club.
What comes next is the part the Clippers cant avoid: the fallout will touch both the front office and the team-building pipeline, with discipline handed down across multiple levels of the organization. Ballmers statement suggested a desire to move on, even as he acknowledged disagreement with parts of the leagues findings, but the larger question is how much damage this episode leaves behind and how quickly the Clippers can put it in the rearview mirror. [Read more 🡒]
Clippers Face Serious New Kawhi Spotlight With Much Bigger Stakes
The Clippers are already dealing with the kind of outside noise that can hang over a franchise for a long time, and the latest development raises the stakes well beyond a standard league review. Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York have opened a criminal inquiry into the club over allegations tied to endorsement arrangements involving Kawhi Leonard, turning a familiar basketball controversy into something far more serious for a team that has spent years trying to build around him.
Unlike an NBA probe, a federal investigation brings a different level of reach, with the government able to compel evidence and testimony in ways the league cannot. It also means the consequences could stretch well beyond fines or public embarrassment if the Clippers do not cooperate, making this a story with legal and organizational implications that could linger well into the season. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Just Became Part Of A Brutal NBA Warning Story
The Clippers have spent years trying to build their own identity in Los Angeles, but the larger shadow has never really gone away. On a recent discussion, NBA insiders Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon tied that dynamic to another cross-town rivalry, comparing the Clippers battle for relevance with the Lakers to the Nets place opposite the Knicks, and suggesting it has long shaped how the franchise has operated.
The bigger concern, as Joey Linn noted, is how that pressure can warp decision-making. The Clippers have already taken major swings in pursuit of a breakthrough, including the moves for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and the warning here is that an inferiority complex can lead a front office into territory it might not otherwise consider. For a team still trying to prove it can stand on its own in its own market, that is a problem with real consequences. [Read more 🡒]