Future outlook: How OKC Thunder build from here
By Aidan E
Smart front offices around the NBA have been taking on salary for picks/players for years now. Teams with cap space to spend in the past like the Brooklyn Nets or Memphis Grizzlies this year have swallowed money for assets and taken chances on descending players.
Brooklyn Nets – flipping expiring contracts
A perfect example of this happening is the trade that seemingly changed the Nets into what they have become today, where they shipped out Brook Lopez and the 27th overall pick in the 2017 draft to the Los Angeles Lakers for Timofey Mozgov and D’Angelo Russell.
Nobody knows what was going through the Lakers head when they decided it was a good idea to sign Mozgov to a four year $64 million deal, but after a year they realized they made a big mistake. As a way to get off of his massive contract, they shipped him off to the Nets for an expiring Brook Lopez and then, third-year player D’Angelo Russell, who was the second overall pick two years prior.
The Nets knew they were not going to attract any stars with the situation they were in and the cap space they had available, so they took a chance on Russell who only two years later, became an All-Star for them and was then eventually dealt to the Warriors in a sign and trade for Kevin Durant. Instead of spending their cap space foolishly (like the Knicks did this year) they used it to absorb bad salaries in return for potential building blocks. With Sam Presti at the helm, I expect the Thunder to make a few similar moves like the Nets did when they were rebuilding.