OKC Thunder: 2 last-second multi-team James Harden blockbusters

A James Harden blockbuster could soon strike, and we here at Thunderous Intentions believe the OKC Thunder should take part in the festivities.

For quite some time now, we have advocated for the OKC Thunder to take part in any sort of James Harden trade.

A majority of the time, deals for superstars involve multiple teams to make the money work as well as add on assets that a traditional two-team swap might not be able to.

In the case for Harden, it’ll take a massive exchange in order to make the contracts and assets work, as he is a superstar player/ recently anointed league MVP who is currently only in year-two of his lucrative four-year, $171 million contract.

While many believed a trade could take till perhaps the deadline, as Houston made it abundantly clear they want to make things work, earlier this week, after their double-digit loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the 8x All-Star threw gallons of gasoline onto the proverbial fire in a post-game press conference, calling out his team for lacking in talent and stated that he doesn’t believe much can be done about it:

"“We’re just not good enough. Chemistry, talent-wise, and it was clear, like I said, these last few games,” he continued. “”I love this city. I’ve literally done everything that I can. The situation, it’s crazy. It’s something that I don’t think can be fixed.”"

Since this latest fiasco, it has been reported that trade talks have kicked up, especially those involving the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski:

With these talks picking up, we at TI believe it is in OKC’s best interest to try and get involved in negotiations as a third team to make things work and, in turn, to potentially acquire their own share of valuable assets.

Though we’ve already done hypothetical deals in the past involving Brooklyn and Philadelphia, being that they are the two most talked-about teams at the moment in regard to landing the star guard, we thought we could re-enter this mix with two new deals the Thunder might be interested in:

Trade No. 1) Rockets replace lost picks, Nets land Harden, OKC lands LeVert

The popular belief is that if the Brooklyn Nets want to land James Harden, they’ll need to part ways with their rising star, Caris LeVert.

This proposed deal does do exactly that but, instead of him heading to the Rockets, we see him coming to the OKC Thunder.

With the way Oklahoma City has played of late, it’s apparent that they aren’t too worried about getting the top pick in this year’s draft and, with them being in-and-out of the top-eight in the Western Conference standings, might be interested in once again surprising the world and contending for yet another postseason appearance similar to what they did in 2019-20.

Many are under the impression that Sam Presti may want to consider flipping some — though, certainly not close to the majority — of the team’s treasure trove of draft capital for an already established player who can make them a more attractive team in free agency as well as give franchise cornerstone Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a proper running mate.

We recently discussed how a guy like LeVert would be worth giving up draft picks for and, today, we’re putting these claims to work by offering up a couple of picks (both heading to Houston) for the budding star in this hypothetical deal.

Why the Brooklyn Nets do it

Obviously, they’d do this deal to land James Harden, a superstar who can drop 30+ points and 10+ assists on any given night to help formulate perhaps the league’s most menacing big-3 in years alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving — whenever he returns.

Not only do they land Harden, but they also bring on George Hill, a savvy veteran guard who can help space the floor on offense, provide sound defense, and can help bolster the team’s depleted backcourt behind Kyrie, as previous stud-backup Spencer Dinwiddie is both likely out for the year due to a partially torn ACL and, of course, would be heading to Houston

Why the Houston Rockets do it

It’s been clear for months now that James Harden has wanted out of Houston but, unfortunately, they can’t go the traditional route of “trade stars then tank” method that teams usually embark on in similar circumstances, as they have forfeited numerous picks over the next several seasons due to past trades (the OKC Thunder owns the majority of them throughout 2026).

In this deal, we see them bringing on players such as Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince, and Rodions Kurucs who can help them stay competitive in the now and moving forward, while also bringing on Dinwiddie — who is expected to make a full recovery from ACL repair surgery and averaged 21.3 points and 7.3 assists last season as a starter — and a total of five first-round picks in return to help them build for the future as well.

Why the OKC Thunder do it

Like we said earlier, to cash in on some of their draft capital now while also bringing in a budding star to pair with SGA moving forward.

Following up a stellar breakout 2019-20 campaign with yet another fantastic season, the fifth-year wing is posting per-game averages of 18.4 points, six assists, 4.3 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and a half block per game on 43 percent shooting from the field and 35 percent shooting from deep.

A lineup consisting of Gilgeous-Alexander, LeVert, Luguentz Dort, and Darius Bazley moving forward, coupled with the fact that even with shipping off two first-rounders they have a potential total of 16 others over the next seven seasons, makes the Thunder have the prospects of being a very scary team in a few years.

Trade No. 2) Houston gets Simmons, 76ers get Harden, OKC gets young assets

Perhaps the most popular framework for any recently concocted James Harden trade has been a swap for All-Star Ben Simmons which, easily, would be the best player received in return for the superstar in any realistic package.

Already considered one of the league’s best two-way players at just 24-years-old, the intriguing part about all of this for Houston is the fact that Simmons has yet to even enter his prime. His combination of size, speed, and playmaking allow him to positively impact every aspect of a game on both ends of the floor and easily makes him a threat to secure a triple-double every night, thus mitigating the loss of this nightly potential from Harden.

Why the Philadelphia 76ers do it

To start the season, the Philadelphia 76ers have already proven to be one of the top teams, not just in the Eastern conference but, frankly, in the entire NBA.

Boasting an 8-4 record, they are currently in possession of the third-best start to 2020-21 and trail only the Boston Celtics in the east’s standings.

Joel Embiid is playing like an MVP frontrunner and Doc Rivers is having fans realize what the 76ers have been missing out on all these years with a mediocre coach running the show.

The scary part about this all is that they have the chance to get even more menacing with a trade such as this.

Bringing on Harden, they’d have the best dynamic-duo in the entire association and would prove to be an absolute menace of a squad to try and stop on offense.

Not only do they receive Harden, however, but they also bring on the likes of George Hill, a player who has been linked to the franchise already this season as a suitable trade target.

He could help space the floor and play sound defense for the team while also giving Rivers the option to have him either come off the bench or run alongside Harden in the starting lineup.

Why the Houston Rockets do it

Like we said, the main draw for this deal is the idea of bringing on Ben Simmons who, through 10 games played, is finding himself average a near triple-double of 12.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and over a block per game on 52 percent shooting from the field.

Though he has played point guard for the majority of his career, with his skill set on both ends of the floor coupled with his insane stature of 6-10, 240-pounds he can essentially play any position from one to five, allowing Houston to run more of a positionless scheme than perhaps ever before.

Not only would they be bringing on Simmons, however, but also the sharpshooter Seth Curry and the impressive rookie talent Tyrese Maxey who, through 12 games, is playing like a 2020 draft steal, as he’s posting averages of 11 points, 2.7 assists, and 2.6 rebounds on 48 percent shooting from the floor.

Add on three future first-round picks, and you might not find another deal better than this if you’re Houston

Why the OKC Thunder do it

In the past, we’ve brought up the idea of the OKC Thunder pursuing both Shake Milton and Matisse Thybulle, albeit separately. With this trade, however, we see them come as a packaged deal.

The reason why we’re big on Milton is due to what he’s managed to do while serving as the starting point guard when filling in for Simmons. Last season, when playing in such a role, 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 come in as the best option to run alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the backcourt and, as both are still so young and under their rookie contracts, could prove to be a very solid and inexpensive guard tandem moving forward.

As for Thybulle, he, too, is a young player (20th overall selection in the 2019 draft) who can grow with the youth movement in OKC moving forward. Despite the underwhelming start to his career, coming into the NBA he was seen as one of the best 3-and-D players in his draft.

Though he may not have lit things up to date, at this stage in his career it’s clearly too early to give up on a second-year first-round selection.

A high character, defensive-first, and floor-spacing prospect, Thybulle seemingly fits the definition of what Sam Presti looks for in his players.

All of this without giving up a single draft asset?

Where do we sign up?