As discussed in the second part of this mini-series, it’s a good thing the Oklahoma City Thunder has veterans such as George Hill and Al Horford on the roster to play the important minutes and help the youngsters develop.
But those two and Trevor Ariza are the three most expensive players on the roster, and it’s not particularly close. An organization that is A) collecting assets and B) dealing with revenue loss should want to trade them at some point this year.
Here’s a breakdown of the top salaries on the Thunder:
- Al Horford: $27.5 million
- Trevor Ariza: $12.8 million
- George Hill: $9.6 million
- Darius Miller: $7 million
- Justin Jackson: $5 million
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: $4.1 million
Miller, for what it’s worth, is also a veteran and may end up on the trade block if he can reestablish himself as a knockdown shooter.
With Hill and Ariza on expiring deals, they would be logical trade targets for contenders. Ideally, the veterans would be moved at the deadline, so they get enough time with the team to make an imprint on the young players.
Will general manager Sam Presti pull off more positive deals for the Thunder?
Ariza is an interesting one to watch simply because, as of the latest reports, he has not reported to the team, and there have yet to be public indications about when he will join. Currently missing time for family matters, Ariza can serve as a veteran 3-and-D forward with 16 years of NBA experience.
He has, however, struggled on bad teams over the last two years. The Phoenix Suns signed him in 2018 and traded him midseason to the Washington Wizards, who let him walk in the offseason. He joined the Sacramento Kings on a two-year deal in 2019 and was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers midway through the year, where he played much better than his previous three stops.
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Will he join the Thunder? Will OKC waive him? Will Presti manage to land a second-round pick out of the Los Angeles Lakers (or whichever team does want him) in three months when contenders are rounding out their rosters?
You can add those questions to the general query in this headline.
Hill, meanwhile, has already been lauded as a strong leader in the clubhouse. He’s a candidate to stick around all season, but if the Thunder can either get a return while removing his salary or if they simply want to thank him by trading him to a contender, it’s logical to envision him on the move in March.
Horford’s outlook is foggier. If I had to bet, I’d say he stays for this entire season. With his contract, he would be hard to move midway through a season, and he has some work to do to prove he’s still worth that deal.
But he was the Thunder’s best player in the preseason. With three years left on his contract, he shouldn’t be someone Oklahoma City has to give up assets for to dump, even if they wait for the offseason before moving him to a team that didn’t land one of the prime free agents in the 2021 class.
This is the third of a three-article series heading into the Thunder’s 2020-21 season.