OKC Thunder: 3 trade deadline predictions for 2020
Sam Presti shows off his Magician tricks yet again:
And the final prediction lies in the mastery of Sam Presti who seldom lets a trade deadline pass without one “he did what?” move.
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This year it’ll be for a player everyone is coveting but few have the resources to get. Robert Covington of the Minnesota Timberwolves is considered to be one of the better two-way players in the Association but his defensive prowess hasn’t had an opportunity to shine in Minnesota.
Well, that’s not entirely true because while Karl-Anthony Towns was out injured the Wolves were sneaky good on the defensive end climbing into the top 10 defensively.
So the next question you’re going to ask is what big player is leaving from OKC and the answer again (as per the first tea leaf) is NO ONE.
Instead, Presti will pull off his typical trickery of delivering what the paying public (in this case Gersson Rosas) needs. KAT has been mewing about his desire to reunite with D’Angelo Russell for ages and although Covington is a player numerous clubs covet (no pun intended) the Warriors are more desirous of draft picks. So much so that they are actively tanking to land the top draft pick.
As for the Wolves other than making their superstar happy they are in need of shedding salary to open cap space.
By virtue of the Thunder sending the $9.3 trade exception or a portion thereof, it makes for a thrifty way to land RoCo. For his part, Rossas will be enticed by the pick to use as a sweetener for their pot to land Russell. The caveat on the pick should be that the Thunder can send whichever is the lower of their 2024 picks to Minnesota. And, to open up a roster spot OKC could (to this narrator’s glee) return Mike Muscala home.
It’s win-win-win and trust me, the RoCo you saw in Minny is a shadow of the player he’ll be in a defensively solid system like Billy Donovan runs.
Next. 5 key questions facing Thunder at trade deadline. dark
At least that is what the tea leaves are saying on this Super Bowl Sunday! Stay connected to Thunderous Intentions as we serve up ample trade coverage for your perusal.