Category: Trade Week

3 backup wings that make sense for Thunder at trade deadline

3 backup wings that make sense for Thunder at trade deadline.

Sitting at 29-13 and in second place in the Western Conference standings, the Oklahoma City Thunder will approach the Feb. 8 trade deadline as buyers for the first time in several years.

The Thunder have broken open a contention window led by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams round out one of the league’s best trios.

While OKC is not expected to make any blockbuster deals, expect it to possibly make minor upgrades to improve its depth heading into its first playoff appearance since 2020.

In today’s NBA, you can never have too many quality wings. Thunder general manager Sam Presti can strengthen the backup wing spot by targeting low-risk veteran players on bad teams.

The Thunder have plenty of draft capital and young prospects to facilitate any type of deal. Scouring through the league, let’s look at three bench wing options OKC could add.

The case for, against Thunder trading for Jazz forward Lauri Markannen

The case for, against Thunder trading for Jazz forward Lauri Markannen.

The Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline is less than a month away and the Oklahoma City Thunder looks like they’ll be buyers for the first time in several years.

The Thunder sit at 28-13, good enough for second place in the Western Conference standings. OKC is set to make its first playoff appearance since 2020.

More importantly, it’ll be the first playoff appearance for this iteration of the Thunder — led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.

The biggest fish in the sea for this trade deadline that’s within the realm of possibility is Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, who’ll likely make his second consecutive All-Star appearance this year.

With that said, it looks less likely now than it did a month ago he gets moved. The Jazz have been one of the hottest teams recently, owning a 22-21 record. This puts Utah right in the thick of the playoff race. So don’t expect the Jazz to deal their franchise player unless absolutely blown away by an offer.

The Thunder are theoretically a team that can make that happen. With several young prospects and being rich in draft assets, OKC can outbid other teams in a trade market.

Let’s make a case for the Thunder to trade for Markannen, pass on it and hand out a final verdict

3 backup guards that make sense for Thunder at trade deadline

3 backup guards that make sense for Thunder at the trade deadline.

Sitting at 27-11 and tied for first place in the Western Conference standings, the Oklahoma City Thunder approach the Feb. 8 trade deadline as buyers for the first time in several years.

The Thunder have broken open a contention window led by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams round out one of the league’s best trios.

While OKC is not expected to make any blockbuster deals, expect it to possibly make minor upgrades to improve its depth heading into its first playoff appearance since 2020.

Thunder general manager Sam Presti can strengthen the backup guard spots. Vasilije Micic has found a bit of a groove recently, but there is always a need for playmakers.

That is not necessarily an urgent need. The Thunder roll deep in guard depth with Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe and Cason Wallace manning the top five spots. The emergence of Williams as a playmaker also makes it less of a need.

However, contenders can never have too much guard depth. If the deal makes sense, OKC can make improvements on the margins.

The Thunder have plenty of draft capital and young prospects to facilitate any type of deal. Scouring through the league, let’s look at three bench guard options OKC could add.

3 Thunder players who are most likely to be moved at trade deadline

3 Thunder players who are most likely to be moved at trade deadline.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will enter the Feb. 8 trade deadline as buyers for the first time in several years.

Sitting at 26-11 and tied for first place in the Western Conference standings, the Thunder have broken open a contending window led by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams help round out one of the league’s best trios.

While a blockbuster in-season move is unlikely to happen, Thunder general manager Sam Presti has enough draft capital and young players to improve the roster on the margins.

If OKC elects to improve its depth, it’ll need to part ways with players on its roster. Let’s look at three of the most likely candidates on the Thunder who could be moved to upgrade their rotation in preparation for their first playoff run since 2020.

4 trade targets Thunder should look into ahead of NBA trade deadline

4 trade targets the Thunder should look into ahead of trade deadline.

As the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline creeps closer, expect the Oklahoma City Thunder to be potential buyers for the first time in years.

After spending the last three seasons rebuilding, OKC has busted open a contention window this year with a 23-11 record led by the young trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.

Even though the Thunder will make the playoffs for the first time since 2020, don’t expect any seismic in-season trades by according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The NBA insider detailed that OKC will likely ride it out with this group but could look to make improvements on the margin.

To prepare for the trade deadline, let’s look at four Thunder targets who’d make sense as short-term commitments that could improve their depth without giving up serious trade capital.

Woj: OKC Thunder to play season out with current group ahead of trade deadline

Woj: OKC Thunder to play season out with current group ahead of trade deadline.

As the Oklahoma City Thunder continues to take the league by storm, pundits are beginning to get anxious about potential moves they can make to improve their roster this season.

Swimming in draft capital and young prospects, the Thunder are spoiled with potential trade assets to make any move a realistic possibility for them.

If the Thunder wanted to make a massive trade right now, they theoretically could. But according to ESPN’s NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, they’d rather see what this young core can do first in the playoffs before making any drastic moves.

“I think they’re gonna keep letting this team grow and they are in a far different place than they were before this season. They knew they had a group that they believed in.

What you’ve seen now is each 10-game increment, they’ve gotten better. They are top five in offensive and defensive efficiency. Only Boston and Philadelphia are there.

They’re on a run where they beat the Celtics, Timberwolves, and Nuggets twice. They’re gonna keep letting this team grow. They have the players here. They have a group here that they can let get into the playoffs. Let them get through it.

They’re one of the three youngest teams in the league — San Antonio and Detroit are the other two; how are they doing? We’ve not seen a team and a group like this in a very long time. With a superstar like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and perhaps multiple All-Stars in the group around them. There’s nothing for this team to do at the trade deadline.

Now they want to go out and get maybe a big off their bench — they’re 29th in rebounding, something like that. But even their role players — Cason Wallace, Isaiah Joe — these guys may grow into great role players on a championship team.

So you look at a team that’s (23-10) and the rest of the league all over the place — underachieving; behind schedule. They’re the ones who have to scramble and make trades.

Oklahoma City’s gonna just keep letting this team (play). They may have the group here, they may not have to go outside this group to really get where they want to go.”

This pretty much aligns with what the Thunder have preached throughout the entire season. OKC isn’t known for making all-in moves unless they have to. Considering the stage their core is at right now, they don’t.

The smart long-term move is to see what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams can do in the playoffs together before tweaking the roster for future playoff runs.

The fact the biggest NBA insider in the league is repeating this point further proves that fans shouldn’t expect an earth-shattering deal before this year’s trade deadline by OKC.

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NBA Mock Trade: What would it take for the OKC Thunder to land Dorian Finney-Smith?

NBA Mock Trade: What would it take for the OKC Thunder to land Dorian Finney-Smith?

Entering 2024, the Oklahoma City Thunder (22-9) possess one of the best records in the league and are second in the Western Conference standings.

Barring a seismic collapse, the Thunder will enter the Feb. 8 trade deadline as buyers for the first time in years. Considering how filthy rich OKC is with draft capital and roster a bench full of young prospects, the Thunder have enough resources to strengthen their weaknesses with outside additions.

Considering the Thunder’s history, any big-time moves likely will not happen within the season. Instead, look for OKC to improve on the margins. This could mean adding a bench piece that could provide valuable rotation minutes in the playoffs.

A potential target is Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith. The 30-year-old was part of the Kyrie Irving trade that landed the All-Star guard with the Dallas Mavericks last February.

As the Nets continue to slide — they’re 15-18 and have lost eight of their last 10 games — perhaps they can be seen as a seller for this season’s trade deadline.

In his eighth season, Finney-Smith has developed into a solid wing defender who can stretch the floor. Those prototypes are extremely valuable for contenders as they look to make deep playoff runs.

In 30 games, Finney-Smith is averaging 10.2 points on 45% shooting, 5.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists. He’s shooting an impressive 43% from 3 on 5.5 attempts.

Finney-Smith’s salary this season is at $13.9 million. Next season, it’ll be $14.9 million, and he has a player option for the 2025-26 season of $15.4 million.

Those are extremely reasonable numbers for the type of production Finney-Smith brings. If the Thunder acquire him, they’ll get a guaranteed 1.5 seasons of solid play.

Thunder Wire’s Clemente Almanza worked with Nets Wire’s Sharif Phillips-Keaton to create a deal to see what a possible trade could look like.

Could the Thunder be a salary-dump destination for LaMarcus Aldridge?

If the Spurs want to trade LaMarcus Aldridge, the Thunder could take him in a salary dump – but they shouldn’t give up Al Horford to do so.

Shortly before the All-Star break, Bleacher Report posted a trade idea recommending the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs flip Al Horford and LaMarcus Aldridge. As we wrote, this would be a value trade for the Spurs but OKC would gain very little. Horford would be a huge improvement for San Antonio, while the Thunder’s only benefits would be to lean into the tank and move off Horford’s long-term salary.

Now, that deal is looking even more unreasonable. The Athletic’s Shams Charania and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarwoski reported that Aldridge and the Spurs are parting ways and that San Antonio is looking for a trade location. Aldridge has little to no trade value, while Horford still has some. Oklahoma City shouldn’t make that deal.

But that doesn’t mean the Thunder can’t be part of a trade. Could OKC be a taker, but solely as a salary dump?

Aldridge’s trade value is low, but because his contract expires after this season, there may be interest from other teams that also have oversized contracts.

Here are a few teams who may have interest based on their personnel:

All those trades have flaws, though. The Spurs would be getting back a lot of salary from the Hornets. The more I look at the Mavericks deal, the more ridiculous it seems to give up Powell for half a season of Aldridge. Same with Barnes — he has more value than that. And the Spurs probably don’t want three seasons of Love.

It’s tough to see anything of these deals go through. More simple would be for the Thunder to use their cap space for a salary dump and then waive Aldridge.

A dream version for OKC would be something along the lines of Trevor Ariza for Aldridge and a first-round pick. The Thunder would then buy out Aldridge’s contract. In doing so, they’ll have gained a first-round pick and found a taker for Ariza.

Ariza would need to consent to join the Spurs, though, or else San Antonio may not approve of the deal. He did not join the Thunder and is a buyout candidate, at which point he would likely join a contender.

If Ariza is unwilling to play for San Antonio, the Thunder could trade Darius Miller instead. A veteran owed $7 million this season, Miller does not have a rotation role with the Thunder. Oklahoma could buy him out or let his contract run out, but trading him to the Spurs would be a more ideal scenario.

The salary swap would work because the Thunder have a $27.5 million trade exception from Steven Adams and a $19.5 million from Danilo Gallinari. Either could be used in this trade for Aldridge, who is owed $24 million.

We talk all the time about Oklahoma City’s draft capital, but the team is also in an envious position due to the cap space. They have the second-lowest payroll in the league. This would allow them to put together a deal like this — one where they get a first-round pick just for taking on a large contract and then waive the player.

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Trade week: Could the Hornets add a center, trade for Thunder’s Al Horford?

The Charlotte Hornets could find an answer at center with Al Horford, but in this trade idea, they would give the OKC Thunder Malik Monk.

Last offseason, the Charlotte Hornets were often linked to James Wiseman and Onyeka Okongwu in the draft. It was thought they would pursue a center.

They went with LaMelo Ball instead, and it has so far been far and away the right choice. But they could still use a center. The Oklahoma City Thunder have a player who could be the answer.

Al Horford, under contract for two seasons in addition to this, could go a long way in helping them earn a playoff spot without crippling their future payroll.

Related: Bleacher Report’s Al Horford trade ideas

The proposal

Thunder receive: Malik Monk, Cody Zeller, Vernon Carey Jr., 2021 Clippers second-round draft pick

Hornets receive: Al Horford

Bleacher Report proposes 2 Al Horford trade ideas

Bleacher Report proposed two Al Horford trades to the San Antonio Spurs and the Boston Celtics. What do you think?

Bleacher Report posted one trade idea for every team in the NBA heading into the final month before the March 25 trade deadline. Multiple teams were connected to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Two different teams were presented with ideas to trade for Thunder center Al Horford: the San Antonio Spurs and the Boston Celtics.

Horford has revitalized his value since being traded from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Thunder. He is a player who can help a Spurs team fighting for a playoff spot or a Celtics team trying to become a serious contender.

Let’s dive into how the trade ideas might help (or hurt) the teams involved.