While the Oklahoma City Thunder roster may feature a combination of both Russell Westbrook and a promising, young core, their status in the trade market is far from positive.
With talk of Paul George moving to the Boston Celtics and Carmelo Anthony moving to the Cleveland Cavaliers coupled with DeMarcus Cousins’ blockbuster New Orleans deal, the final week of 2017’s trade deadline has been packed with just about every possible rumor.
However one team that hasn’t really been involved in proceedings is the Oklahoma City Thunder, who at their peak have been linked with Taj Gibson and Nick Young across the last week of action.
As a team at the bottom of the pack occupying the fourth-through-seventh seeds in the Western Conference, the Thunder could really have done with a busy window, but it seems like now their activity will be limited, if anything at all.
There are many reason for this, but one glaring one is that the Thunder are in a trading rut.
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A Settled Core
With Kevin Durant leaving in the summer, the Thunder made plays to keep their core players with the side for the foreseeable future. Steven Adams and Victor Oladipo committed to the franchise until 2020 back in October, with both of them set to earn in-excess of $20 million next year.
It means that in addition to Russell Westbrook the side has a settled core of players on long-term contracts, which goes on to suggest that none of the trio would be included in any deals that OKC attempt to engage in.
Both Adams and Oladipo have been included in far-fetched rumors including the likes of Blake Griffin and PG13 in the past, but none of those have ever been to close to believable.
Sam Presti’s insistence on keeping OKC’s new big three together leaves them without any possibility of adding some serious All-Star firepower anytime soon, especially as the trio together have the possibility to earn just under $70 million collectively next year. There isn’t any room for movement.
TRADE RUMOR: OKC linked with Afflalo, Young and two Bulls
Tumbling Values and Irreplaceable Numbers
Once you take OKC’s main core away, you’re left with two obvious players who could be dealt in order to improve the Thunder roster for the better – Andre Roberson and Enes Kanter.
The former, who has divided the crowd this season, failed to sign a new contract back in October and could now enter free agency this summer.
Roberson has drawn a following for his stellar defensive play, however his 8.95 player efficiency rating and inability to often hit wide-open shots have left him with his critics.
Trading Roberson for a natural small forward or a wing player who can hit threes seems an obvious move, but with the 25-year-old now on an expiring contract, it seems unlikely that the Thunder will be able to pull of a big deal.
Another option is of course Enes Kanter. The big man has been the Thunder’s go-to sixth man over the past season and a half, and has filled his role well.
RELATED: No Kanter means no trade for the Thunder
The 24-year-old has averaged 14.4 points per game off an average of just 21.6 minutes, but boasts a big contract that sees him earn around $18 million a year.
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The obvious move would seemingly be to move Kanter on, as he’s the best leverage the side have among their ranks, but it isn’t as black and white. The former Utah Jazz man has been injured since the end of January after a freak forearm fracture ruled him out for around two months. In his absence, the Thunder have suffered.
Off the bench OKC now lack a serious threat in the second unit, and it’s proved that Kanter is an irreplaceable member of the Thunder roster. Trading Kanter as part of a trade for a new first-team face could in fact hurt the side, with the likes of Jerami Grant being the Thunder’s only other scorers off the subs bench.
To conclude, it seems like the Thunder won’t be able to make any serious plays any time soon. The re-shuffling of average bench players is seemingly the side’s peak as this trade deadline looks to pass, and with several of the franchises draft picks having been traded away in previous deals, it’s not like the side will be adding serious youth soon either.
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