As The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie noted, the James Harden trade to the Brooklyn Nets from the Houston Rockets will have long-lasting implications on the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Because the Thunder have the right to swap picks with the Houston Rockets in 2021 and 2025 via the Russell Westbrook trade, the draft picks that Brooklyn sent will impact what the Thunder choose to do.
In the 2021 NBA draft, Houston’s pick is top-four protected, but if it falls outside that range, the Thunder will be allowed to swap it with either their own pick or the Miami Heat’s pick. They could also choose the Nets’ pick, though that one should be deep in the draft.
Vecenie explained succinctly:
(Oklahoma City) gets the two best picks out of each of those four teams’ first-rounders (although Houston’s pick is top-four protected). Houston gets the third-best as long as its pick is outside the top-four, and Brooklyn gets the worst pick.
Then, in 2025, the Thunder will once again be able to swap for either Houston’s or Brooklyn’s pick. They could also swap with the Los Angeles Clippers, who they also have the rights to swap picks with via the Paul George trade.
Vecenie reports that this Houston pick is top-10 protected.
If it’s outside of the top 10, Oklahoma City will receive the best pick out of Houston, Brooklyn and its own selection. Houston will get the second-best, Brooklyn will get the worst. With Houston seemingly about to enter a rebuild and that 2025 Brooklyn pick having upside, (general manger) Sam Presti’s wheeling and dealing just became that much more valuable.
Presti and the Thunder have spread out their eggs into several teams baskets over the next half-decade-plus in hopes of getting better assets either for trading or using to draft.
Those moves just created another avenue that could result in fortune for Oklahoma City.
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