OKC Thunder: “Pass or Pursue” on 5 recently proposed trades
By Mark Nilon
Though the 2020-21 regular season is just under two weeks away from kicking off, Bleacher Report believes the OKC Thunder could still be in the market for some moves.
The OKC Thunder come into this upcoming campaign with a bevy of draft capital and mighty low expectations.
After dealing away virtually every high-impact player that helped guide the team to their fifth consecutive postseason appearance last year, Sam Presti and co. seemingly have their eyes set on the future, targeting high-end draft selections moving forward as well as focusing on the development of their young nucleus of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Darius Bazley, Luguentz Dort, and a few more of their budding prospects.
Though we’re just under two weeks till the tip-off of the 2020-21 regular season, there is still a realistic possibility that the Thunder could still find themselves making moves, as they appear to have numerous flippable pieces and, as this offseason has already told us, Presti is not one to shy away from a good deal.
Recently, Bleacher Report came out with a piece entitled 1 New Trade Idea for Every NBA Franchise and, in it, we saw Oklahoma City linked to four different hypothetical trades.
Naturally, this got TI’s creative juices flowing and, with this, we got eager to put out another installment of one of our favorite series we like to call “Pass or Purse”, where we discuss concocted trades and determine whether it would be wise for the franchise to execute them or if they should simply stand pat.
So, without further adieu, let’s get started:
Proposed trade idea for OKC Thunder No. 1) Trevor Ariza gets flipped to Atlanta
Essentially since the moment it was announced that Trevor Ariza had been acquired by the OKC Thunder in late November, fans and media alike have expected him to be flipped at some in an attempt for the team to add to their already illustrious collection of draft assets.
This is no disrespect to Ariza, however, as he is a well-respected veteran who is a tough-nosed 3-and-D wing with championship experience. That said, with the direction in which Oklahoma City is planning going, it would appear his services would be wasted on this purposely tanking team.
His presence on the postseason hopeful Atlanta Hawks, on the other hand? Now that’s a quality landing spot, and B/R’s Zach Buckley deemed it as such in his latest piece:
"Atlanta could broker a deal for Trevor Ariza, who ranks among the Association’s most effective three-and-D mercenaries. He guards multiple positions and shoots a league-average rate from distance. Every win-now team and win-now hopeful wants that exact skill set. If his family matters settle down and he can return to the hardwood, he’d be perfect for the Hawks. The Thunder abandoned the win-now ship this offseason and are in outright asset-accumulation mode. This would add another future first-rounder to the ledger, and if Snell happened to perk up in the Sooner State, perhaps OKC could eventually flip him for draft considerations as well."
Swapping out Ariza for an expiring contract in Tony Snell and another first-round pick for the 2022 draft?
Where do we sign up?