This offseason the OKC Thunder have been quite busy in the trade department, and Bleacher Report believes they could have gotten more from the 76ers deal.
In regard to the 2020 offseason, many OKC Thunder fans believe that Sam Presti and co. did almost everything right in regard to setting the team up for a proper rebuild moving forward.
Shipping off the likes of Chris Paul, Steven Adams, Dennis Schroder, and Danilo Gallinari (via sign-and-trade), the organization managed to bring on several draft assets to add to their already illustrious treasure trove and players viewed as “flippable” so that they can pursue more deals to make their future prospects even brighter.
One of the most noteworthy flips already made by the team’s front office was the trade that sent Danny Green — acquired in the Schroder deal to the Lakers — to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for veteran big man Al Horford, two picks, and the draft rights to Serbian-born guard, Vasilije Micic.
While many fans are pleased with the idea of bringing on the former All-Star to serve as a mentor and lockerroom leader for this youthful roster, Bleacher Report writer Zach Buckley believes the Thunder could, and likely should have tried to get more from Philadelphia in the exchange.
His reasoning as to why he believes this to be the case reads as follows:
"From almost the moment the ink dried on his four-year, $109 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers last summer, it immediately ranked among the league’s worst arrangements. He couldn’t find a comfortable role, his stat sheet paid the price and his trade value torpedoed.His contract was the biggest obstacle for Philly to create a workable roster, so OKC was smart to discuss a deal. But how did it ever determine that Horford, 34 years old and owed $81 million over the next three seasons, could be offset by only a second-rounder and a protected future first? Maybe Presti owed Daryl Morey a favor or something."
This take makes a ton of sense — with how low Horford’s value had dropped this past season, how did Presti not negotiate to get even more than what they inevitably did?
Perhaps the OKC Thunder are banking on a CP3-esque season, where the 14-year-veteran proves he can still provide at an effective rate for a team and, by season’s end or thereafter, could be flipped for more desirable assets.
However, even if this is the case, it doesn’t change the fact that what the team got back alongside Al Horford in the Philadelphia deal is a tad bit underwhelming.