The OKC Thunder have made a plethora of moves this offseason. Throughout the year, we project this trend to continue, and they could even get involved in the James Harden sweepstakes.
This offseason, the OKC Thunder have been busier than any other team in NBA history, according to Jared Dubin of FiveThirtyEight.
Starting with the parting of ways between the franchise and Head Coach Billy Donovan, the article would then go on to the focus of the Thunder’s offseason which, of course, was in the trade department.
"First, Presti sent reserve guard Dennis Schröder (himself acquired in a deal meant to salary-dump Carmelo Anthony back in 2018) to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for sharpshooter Danny Green and the No. 28 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.1 The next day, the Thunder shipped Chris Paul and Abdel Nader to the Phoenix Suns, receiving Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre Jr., Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque and a (protected) 2022 first-round pick in return. The Paul trade came together two days before the draft, but Presti was just getting started. The day of the draft, the Thunder made two more trades: They spun Rubio, along with the Nos. 25 and 28 picks in the draft, to the Minnesota Timberwolves, receiving the No. 17 overall pick (used on Aleksej Pokuševski) and James Johnson in return.2 (And remember, the No. 28 pick had just been acquired in the Schröder deal.) Plus, they flipped Green and Terrance Ferguson over to Philadelphia, receiving Al Horford, the No. 34 overall pick (used on Theo Maledon), a lightly protected 2025 first-round pick and the draft rights to Serbian guard Vasilije Micić from the 76ers. During the draft, they sent the rights to the No. 53 overall pick (Cassius Winston) and a 2024 second-rounder to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Admiral Schofield and the rights to No. 37 overall pick Vit Krejčí. Got all that? Good, because we’re not done. The day after the draft, the Thunder sent Oubre to the Golden State Warriors, receiving a top-20 protected first-round pick for their troubles. They also acquired Vincent Poirier and cash considerations from the Celtics in exchange for a conditional future second-round pick.3"
Dubin would go on for a lot longer, of course, as Sam Presti and co. were wheeling and dealing for a total of 11 trades — above was merely a taste of how busy they’ve been.
Though the offseason is about to come to its end tomorrow, as the NBA’s regular season will officially tip-off, OKC’s trade frenzy is likely to follow them into the year, as the team has a few players in George Hill, Al Horford, and Trevor Ariza that many believe could be flipped for more desirable assets.
A great idea for the franchise would be to serve as the third team in any James Harden-based trade, as they could help make the money work while also bringing on more assets that better serve their rebuild movement.
Today, we will be discussing two blockbuster 3-team deals involving the OKC Thunder that helps Harden get out of Houston:
Harden heads to Philadelphia, Houston stays competitive, OKC gets solid talent
Perhaps the most talked-about trade destination for James Harden from this offseason, in this deal the Philadelphia 76ers land the superstar point guard all while getting their wish of keeping Ben Simmons as well.
The draw for the Rockets in this scenario is the fact that they bring on Tobias Harris to partner with John Wall, keeping the team still very much relevant in the Western Conference even without Harden in tow.
Not only this, but they also wind up receiving young guys in Matisse Thybulle & Ty Jerome as potential building blocks to lead them into the future and bring on first-round picks in 2021, 2023, and 2027 to make up for the ones they lost in last offseason’s trade for Russell Westbrook.
Philly, of course, brings on Harden to formulate a big-3 with Simmons and Joel Embiid. The trio would immediately thrust the Sixers into the title-favorites conversation alongside the Los Angeles Lakers, and would then become the team to beat out East.
As for the OKC Thunder, they manage to pull off a deal that we’ve advocated they pursue in the past in swapping out George Hill for Shake Milton and Furkan Korkmaz.
Last season with the Sixers, Milton showed that he has what it takes to both properly run an offense as well as perfectly mesh alongside other players that are considered to be the focal points.
While filling in for the injured Ben Simmons last season at point guard, the 24-year-old posted impressive averages of 13.7 points and 4.2 assists per game on 51 percent shooting from the floor and 47.5 percent shooting from deep.
He would easily come in as the best option to run alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the backcourt and, with their respective ages and rookie-scale contracts, could prove to be a very solid and inexpensive guard tandem moving forward.
Harden heads to Brooklyn, Houston gets young talents, OKC lands a center
We understand that the idea of trading away one of their first-round picks is not popular amongst OKC Thunder fans. That said, if it meant bringing on a potential long-term fixture at the pivot, the proposition seems a bit more enticing, no?
In this deal, we see the Brooklyn Nets winning the Harden sweepstakes, as they add the shooting guard to their roster that already consists of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. With him in tow, this already championship hopeful team gets even more menacing, and would most likely surpass the Lakers as favorites to win it all in 2020-21.
Not only do they bring on Harden, but they also get the veteran leadership, floor spacing abilities, and defensive tenacity that Trevor Ariza provides as well.
The Houston Rockets wind up getting a great combination of pieces to help them win in the now as well as consistently moving forward, as we see them bringing on Spencer Dinwiddie (averaged 20.6 points, 6.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds last season), Caris LeVert (18.7 points, 4.4 assists, 4.2 rebounds on 36 percent shooting from deep last season), and three future first-round picks (two from Brooklyn, one from OKC).
And, for the OKC Thunder, we see them bring on 22-year-old center, Jarrett Allen. Through 70 games played last season, Allen posted averages of 11.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game on an incredible 65 percent shooting from the floor.
Establishing himself as one of the best rim protectors in the NBA, nabbing Allen for one of their lower-value selections (perhaps the Los Angeles Clippers’ 2022 pick) would be an absolute steal, as they’d acquire a long-term fixture at the five that could grow alongside SGA, Darius Bazley, and the rest of their young core.
If ever there were a time to cash in on some of their draft capital, it would be in this hypothetical exchange.