Losers: L.A. Clippers
After giving up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and five first-round picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Paul George, five years later, the Clippers let him leave in exchange for absolutely nothing. Without a means to replace their second-best player, the Clippers will probably struggle to make the playoffs, especially with their best player, Kawhi Leonard, made of glass. Guard Russell Westbrook opted into his contract but seems unlikely to return next season.
They do still have James Harden, who re-signed for two years and $70 million, which seems like a big overpay and they also brought in controversial guard Kevin Porter Jr. Considering that they were the fourth-seed last season, the Clippers will possibly take a big step back due to their offseason moves and they still have a projected $170 million payroll with very few assets following the OKC trade and the Harden trade.
With at least four teams much better than them in the Western Conference, it doesn't seem as though they have a way to significantly improve and that is a bad place to be. Perhaps they should have simply offered George an extra year on a new contract instead of seemingly guaranteeing that they would be a play-in team for the next couple of seasons.