How the OKC Thunder can get better this offseason

Sell high on TFerg and Jerami Grant

Likelihood Index: 6/10

Presti is a smart GM and this is the exact kind of move that smart front offices make, but I don’t see him moving on from either guy unless the right deal comes along.

Fun Index: 0/10

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I love Terrance Ferguson and Jerami Grant as much as the next guy, but their trade values probably won’t be much higher than they are right now. Both Ferguson and Grant are coming off seasons in which they went from interesting yet flawed bench players to full-fledged starters playing critical roles on a competitive Western Conference playoff team. For starters, relative youth (Ferguson is 21 and Grant is 25) and contract value (a combined $11.8 million in salary next year) make them exceptionally interesting trade pieces for whom most teams would be chomping at the bit.

But when you consider each guy’s respective growth curve and the clear potential they both still have, they have a case as the best under-the-radar trade pieces in the NBA. The thing about guys like this, though, is that their value is constantly in flux and most likely fleeting.

Right now, everything is rosy for Ferguson and Grant and as a result of their athleticism and clear potential, we can project whatever we want onto them. We can sell ourselves on the idea of Ferguson as a younger, more athletic Danny Green with All-Defense upside or on the dream that Grant is the second-coming of Pascal Siakam; we still have hope that they’ll improve. And in the NBA, hope is invaluable.

Hope is why we give guys like Andrew Wiggins $154 million contracts even though he’s basically the same player he was when he came out of Kansas and it’s why unprotected first-round picks are some of the most coveted assets in the entire league.

Fortunately for the Thunder, they have two guys who have both real hope for the future and real value right now. They might have a hard time giving these guys away after putting so many resources behind their development, but they will never be able to get more than they can right now.