I think you're conflating perspectives. There is the OKC perspective and the LAC perspective. The result for LAC wasn't the "worst ever in NBA history"...that's nonsense. I listed 5 trades that were worse. The result for OKC was great for sure, but a large part of that was their draft acumen in 2022 when they took Jalen Williams at 12. The year before, when they took Tre Mann at 18, not much acumen
yeah, LAC gave up SGA and a washed Gallinari for PG13; that was really lopsided considering George's health. But, when PG13 was healthy he averaged 23-7-5 for the Clips in nearly 190 games; that's not nothing
But it wasn't some incredible multiple top-5 pick haul they gave away like Brooklyn did for KG/Pierce. The picks were #18 - #12 - #18 - #26, with the 2026 to be determined. So far only one lottery pick and that was the 12th pick. There is no guarantee at all that LAC would have taken Jalen William like OKC did; they could have taken Ochai Agbaji, AJ Griffin or Tari Eason. Certainly there was opportunity cost but that can be a really iffy calculation, especially for non-lottery picks