One deal leads to two division champions! Pacers Thunder make a profit, but the Clippers become suckers

On June 1, everyone probably knows the results of today's Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers defeated the Knicks 125-108, and they defeated the Knicks 4-2 with a big score and entered the finals. They will have a positive conversation with the Thunder. As for who can win the championship, I think many fans are optimistic about the Thunder, just like me. Even if the Thunder did not win the championship in the end, as long as they can reach the finals, both teams are worthy of praise.

The rise of these two youth troops also indicates that some veteran strong teams are in decline. Even if the Warriors and the Lakers attract stars around Zhan Ku, it may be difficult to win the championship. Changes in age, salary space and the style of the times will be the key. The five foreign lineups are the most popular now. It is not difficult to form such a lineup, but most of them are teams with excellent athletic ability and good at playing fast, which is very difficult for teams with veterans as the core.

When it comes to the championships of these two division finals, it can't help but remind people of a deal. It can be said that it is because of a player that has created the current champions of these two divisions. Let's turn our time back to the 17-year offseason. In 2017, Westbrook swept the entire league with a triple-double per game, won the regular season MVP, and led the team to the playoffs in the wild West. In the first season when Durant left the team, Westbrook proved his value, and the Thunder also wanted to form a championship-winning team to prove to Durant that without him, we can do it.

At that time, the Thunder had a lot of outstanding talents. They were interested in Anthony and George. They first completed the deal with the Pacers. The Pacers at that time also lost confidence in George. The ball dominance was still unable to lead the team to success. The Thunder sent Oladipo and Sabonis, and then exchanged some role players and second-round picks for Anthony. At that time, Anthony had the right to veto the transaction. He wanted to leave the team, and the Knicks wanted to do so, so they agreed to the deal happily.

After forming the three giants of George, Westbrook and Anthony, the Thunder are only in the first round. Next season, they sent Anthony away and became the dual core of George and Westbrook, but this only reduced the team's expenses and did not help the team go far in the playoffs. After the Pacers traded Oladipo and Sa Xiao, the team rose rapidly around these two and entered the playoffs, but they were not lucky. Oladipo was injured later, and Sa Xiao led the team only on the edge of the playoffs.

The two teams did not meet the expected level after completing the transaction, so they thought of continuing to trade. In the offseason in 2019, the Thunder sent Westbrook to the Rockets, and George joined the Clippers. Because Leonard wanted to join forces with him, the Clippers also chose to use the first round picks to George, giving away Alexander, Gallinari, 5 unprotected first round picks and 2 first round exchanges to get George, a total of 9 for 1.

Before the 22-year trade deadline, the Kings and Pacers also completed the transaction. The Kings sent Halliburton, Hilde, Trestan Thompson for Sabonis, Lamb, Justin Holiday and a 27-year second round pick. Everyone knows the story afterwards. After the Thunder got Alexander's trade, they began to build a team around Alexander. In 22 years, the team not only won Chet with the second pick, but also won Jewish with the No. 12 pick given by the Clippers.

Therefore, the Thunder formed their current core lineup, and Alexander won the regular season MVP this season. Seeing Alexander now, I don’t know what the Clippers would think. I guess they regretted the deal. After all, after getting George the deal, he helped the team get far away in the playoffs, but he reached the division finals. Alexander has now become one of the best stars in the league, which is a height that George has not reached at the peak.

Not only did Alexander go away through 9 for 1, but he also had multiple first-round picks. The Clippers only had George's five-year right to use it. In the offseason last year, George was even unwilling to cut the team's salary slightly, and eventually joined the 76ers for the big contract. Although the Clippers are quite unfair, to be honest, it's a blessing that George left, and they were able to regain their competitiveness this season. The Pacers also made a profit through George's trade, Halliburton is the current Pacers' offensive axis.

Halliburton has led the Pacers to the division finals for two consecutive seasons and has even reached the finals this season. Halliburton averaged 18.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game in the playoffs, and he averaged 18.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. With his connection, the Pacers averaged 6 points per game in double digits. One whale fell into life, and George directly led two teams to live. It is estimated that George did not expect that he could have such a big impact. These two teams will inevitably win the championship, and George's trade value will increase at that time.

Speaking of this, what do you want to say about these two teams? Welcome to leave a message for discussion.