OKC Thunder: 3 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sidekicks to consider trading for

The OKC Thunder are one of the biggest surprised thus far into the 2020-21 campaign.

Boasting a record of 6-7 and constantly finding themselves in the mix for a top-eight seed in the Western Conference standings, the team’s start to the year has warranted much attention from both it’s fanbase and the media.

In fact, Bleacher Report went as far as to give Oklahoma City an A- grading in their latest piece, making them one of only seven teams to receive such a grade or higher.

With their impressive play of late, fans have become less enthusiastic about a tank job and, now, are hoping for continued competition throughout.

While this team as currently constructed is too good to vie for the top pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, they are also seemingly not good enough to pull a Cinderella Story-esque campaign for the second year in a row.

The OKC Thunder should consider trading for a sidekick for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Sure, they have third-year stud Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who seems to be gunning for his first All-Star nod (21 points, 6.2 assists, 5.3 rebounds on 51 percent shooting) and a few solid young pieces in Luguentz Dort and Darius Bazley, but if they want to be a tougher team in the west as soon as this season, they may want to consider adding on a more proper sidekick to run alongside their lead guard.

We here are TI believe there to be 3 specific players Sam Presti and co. could target to fill such a role:

OKC Thunder sidekick No. 1) John Collins

What can we say about John Collins that hasn’t already been said?

It seems like every couple of weeks we at Thunderous Intentions are bringing back up the concept of teaming the Atlanta Hawks’ power forward with OKC Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Frankly, since the rift between him and Trae Young became public, we feel as though we have the right to push this narrative even more.

Most recently, we brought up the concept two weeks ago, obviously citing his production on the court and age-range as reasons to believe that he’s a perfect fit alongside SGA:

Fitting the timeline that the OKC Thunder are currently on, coupled with his specific skill set, trading draft capital to land a potential 1B player in John Collins alongside SGA’s 1A role moving forward is certainly something Sam Presti should pounce on if the Atlanta Hawks place the big man on the block.
On the season, the 6-11 Collins is averaging 16.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and a block on 54 percent shooting from the field and 35 percent shooting from deep.