As OKC Thunder appear headed for a rebuild, could Russell Westbrook spark Magic in Orlando?

Second trade option:

The second scenario of this hypothetical deal with Orlando is similar to the first one in that it centers around another young Magic big man in Jonathan Isaac.

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In this deal, the Thunder would once again be getting Aaron Gordon, but this time they will be receiving an expiring backup point guard in DJ Augustin as well as a young, switchy defender in Jonathan Isaac (21).

With Augustin in the deal, the Thunder are getting an expiring deal that they could easily flip at the deadline to a team that is in need for a backup veteran guard. Isaac’s game is similar to another player on the Thunders roster in Jerami Grant.

Isaac is one inch taller than Grant, but has a shorter wingspan (7’1 compared to 7’3) and is around 10 pounds lighter, but both can potentially play the three, four or five depending on the matchup.

Isaac, much like Grant who in his early years with the 76ers, has struggled on offense so far, scoring mainly in the paint and has shot 33 percent from deep throughout his career and 81 percent from the line. However, Isaac is on the up and up offensively as he increased his two-point percentage by 11 percent from his rookie season and his free throw percentage by nearly six percent.

The ESPN Trade Machine currently doesn’t give you the option to add picks to the trade, but OKC would also be sending out a pick or two in order to convince the Magic to take this deal.

Is this trade realistic? — More than likely not

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While the situation for Gordon remains the same, shipping off a solid, expiring backup guard could be a bad deal for Orlando as they might want to deal him in an individual trade to get max value for him.

Isaac, like Bamba, is also a tough value. While his defense has certainly been solid throughout his career thus far, his offense has a long way to go and Orlando just drafted another power forward 17th in Chuma Okeke. The Magic just have so many front court players it’s impossible to gauge value on each one, but if any of these trades were on the table for Sam Presti, I would strongly consider either one of them.

Outlook:

In either of these trades, OKC would be acquiring young players on relatively cheap deals who can potentially assist in the rebuilding effort or be flipped for more assets/players in the future. They would also be shipping off the face of OKC basketball and shedding his massive contract thus clearing up cap space in the future.

In the Magics case, they get their first star in years and a point guard that can help them jump to a top five or six seed in the Eastern Conference.