It is expected that, sooner or later, the OKC Thunder will look to flip George Hill for more desirable assets. Across the league, there are quite a few intriguing landing spots.
The OKC Thunder have been extremely trade happy so far throughout the 2020 offseason. Kicking things off with a splash that sent Chris Paul to the Phoenix Suns, since then Sam Presti and co. have taken part in a plethora of other moves that, in turn, has set them up quite nicely for the future.
Along with draft assets, Oklahoma City has also brought on salary-matching talents, some of which could manage to stay long-term while others — many others — will likely be shipped off at some point in the future for more desirable assets for this rebuilding OKC team.
One player in particular fans believe to be a flip option for the front office is veteran point guard George Hill, who was acquired in the trade that sent Stevens Adams to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Though in the twilight of his NBA career, the 34-year-old still has the ability to provide quality minutes and services for virtually any team that would care to roster him — even the Thunder, in fact, but, again, the expectation is that he’ll be moved.
Where and when Hill will be moved, that’s certainly up for debate. However, we here at Thunderous Intentions view 3 specific teams as potential landing spots for the 12th-year floor general:
Potential landing spot for George Hill No. 1) Los Angeles Clippers
The idea of Hill landing on the Los Angeles Clippers is actually one we initially saw brought up by Bleacher Report, where writer Mo Dakhil proposed a deal that would send the veteran guard to La La Land in return for Lou Williams and two future second-round picks.
His reasoning as for why it could make sense for both franchises read as follows:
"The Thunder are in asset-collection mode after their playoff run, and they recently acquired George Hill in a four-team trade that landed the Bucks Jrue Holiday. In baseball terms, Hill is the perfect middle reliever as someone who can eat up innings and get a club from its starter to its closer. He might also be the perfect fit for the Clippers. Hill has already played a similar role on a smaller scale with the Bucks, where he was one of many secondary ball-handlers to Giannis Antetokounmpo. He shot 46 percent from three, and according to Synergy Sports, he was in the 99th percentile for spot-up shooting. Hill is also a capable ball-handler, as he had a points-per-possession average of 1.02 in pick-and-rolls including passes this past season. He averaged 3.1 assists in 21.5 minutes per game and found ways to be effective despite a low usage of 15.2 percent. Defensively, his length (6’9″ wingspan) and basketball IQ are assets, as the Bucks had a defensive rating 102.1 when he was on the court this past season."
With the Clippers’ need for help at the point coupled with the want for the OKC Thunder to bring on as many picks as possible, a scenario such as this may be quite realistic.