OKC Thunder: 3 players opposing teams have on their wish list

In this Christmas Day special, we at Thunderous Intentions discuss 3 specific members of the OKC Thunder opposing teams have on their “wish list” for this season.

Merry Christmas OKC Thunder fans!

Though we may not have gotten our wish to see our beloved NBA franchise take to the hardwood just yet, we still understand what this season will be about — rebuilding.

As things currently stand, the Thunder are seemingly ahead of the timeline in terms of tanking teams throughout history, as they already have a centerpiece in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and several other youthful cogs that will likely lead them into the future, while also possessing a historic amount of draft capital along the way.

In fact, they are in such a good spot that some would even argue that they could either compete this year or tank completely, and, either way, their rebuild would be on a great pace.

That said, it is the want of the fans for the franchise to lose as many games as possible this year in an effort to secure themselves a better pick come draft day.

However, with the way the roster looks, they may be too good to end the year with a bottom-3 record, as they have a solid combination of both talented youngsters and savvy veterans on their roster.

What this likely means is, at some point this season, General Manager Sam Presti will likely continue his wheeling and dealing ways and, in turn, flip some of their more established and prominent players that could help them recapture their 2019-20 vibe for more desirable assets, be it draft capital or youthful ballers.

Being it’s Christmas, we thought it would be fun to talk about 3 players that are most likely to be dealt this season by OKC, and the teams around the league that we anticipate would have them on their trade “whish list”:

OKC Thunder player No. 1) Trevor Ariza

Though he hasn’t even made his way to the Thunder’s facilities this season due to “personal matters”, Trevor Ariza simply has nothing to prove coming into 2020-21 — he’s already established as a player contending teams would love to have on their roster.

The 16-year-veteran is one of the most prominent 3-and-D wings currently in the NBA and is coming off of a 2019-20 campaign where he averaged eight points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game on 37 percent shooting from deep.

Having a plethora of postseason experience, including an NBA Championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009, the 35-year-old understands what it takes to win in this league and could be especially useful for a contender with a reletively young core, which is why we believe Ariza would be on the trade wish list for…

The Boston Celtics

Last season, the Cs were an absolute menace and came within just two games of reaching the NBA Finals. If this year’s season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks was any indicator, they plan on once again being a top-tier threat to take home the Larry O’Brien trophy, and could use for some extra veteran experience to help guide them.

We saw it last year in the bubble, where Boston would find themselves up big — especially in the Eastern Conference Finals — and then, with the spare time remaining in the game, would take their foot off the gas which would wind up having them struggle to scrape away a victory or, most commonly, have them lose.

A guy like Trevor Ariza would never allow such a downfall to happen so easily or so often, as he is a strong voice on the bench/ in the locker room and a consistent contributor when on the hardwood.

His mentorship could be vital to the progressions of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and could serve as a championship-pedigree leader alongside Tristan Thompson to help try and lead this young Cs team to the promised land.