“I am going to make you pay for that” – Doc Rivers admits he didn’t think SGA would be this good when the Clippers traded him originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Nowadays, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is synonymous with the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise and a legend in the making, but SGA didn’t start his career in OKC.
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Shai started his NBA path with the Los Angeles Clippers and played his rookie season under coach Doc Rivers, showing flashes of greatness. However, it wasn’t nearly promising enough for Doc or anyone around the organization to believe he would become an MVP-caliber player.
Although they liked Gilgeous-Alexander and reluctantly gave him away in the infamous Paul George trade, Rivers felt that it was understandable, considering it would bring them the duo of Kawhi Leonard and PG. Despite becoming an immediate title contender, Doc had a tough time picking up the phone to call Shai and break the news.
“I was so happy that we got Kawhi, and it bothered me to make that call to Shai. That was a tough call. He handled it like such a pro, but you also felt, it was like this, ‘I am going to make you pay for that trade,'” Rivers explained how he handled bringing up the news to Gilgeous-Alexander.
Cassell knew what SGA would become
Gilgeous-Alexander is known for his calm and smooth demeanor, and he has been like this since his rookie days. While he handled the move like a true professional, even Rivers knew that the Canadian would take it personally and do everything in his power to make the Clippers regret the trade. It’s fair to say that Shai succeeded in his mission.
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Interestingly, Doc shared that one of his assistants and former point guard, Sam Cassell, saw SGA’s sky-high potential early on. According to him, Cassell knew that moving on from Gilgeous-Alexander would eventually bite them back and make them regret the move, despite getting stars of the magnitude like PG and The Klaw.
“I loved him…I mean, come on. No one saw this…Sam Cassell was really high on him and almost devastated we were going to trade him…I called Sam, and Sam says, ‘We just gave away an assassin. We better win it because this kid is gonna come back and haunt all of us,'” Doc shared Sam’s love for Shai.
Doc compares Shai to Tyrese
The fire in SGA’s eyes propelled him to become one of the best guards in the NBA, the 2025 MVP, and one win away from becoming a champion and Finals MVP. While Gilgeous-Alexander looks pretty cautious and laid-back about all the hype and success around him and the Thunder, Doc knows that he is actually a ruthless individual on the court. That is a trait Rivers saw in another young point guard, Tyrese Maxey, while he was with the Philadelphia 76ers.
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“He reminds me a lot of Maxey…I coached Shai hard, I coached Maxey hard. Both of them could take it, they wanted more, they wanted to learn…You think they are these nice guys. You said he comes off as this nice guy. Shai is a stone-blooded killer. He does not care about making you happy when you get on the floor,” Glenn praised SGA’s demeanor.
While the move to get George and Leonard was a sure bet in 2019 and something rare teams would pass on, the Clippers must be wondering how their future could have looked if they had held onto Gilgeous-Alexander. One team that definitely doesn’t regret that day is Oklahoma City. As the first title since moving the squad, there is just a step away, in large part thanks to SGA.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 17, 2025, where it first appeared.