This past Wednesday, the OKC Thunder put on full display the resilience and “never say die” attitude that fans of the organization have grown accustomed to over their 13-year existence.
Despite getting beaten down by the Houston Rockets in their bout on Monday night by a final point differential of 30 (136-106), they found themselves squaring off against the franchise once again two nights later, where they would exact revenge, breezing to a hard-fought victory to the tune of a 104-87 final score.
What made this win more impressive was the fact that the Thunder were without franchise player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, staring guard George Hill, and, mid-way through the game, lost 3-and-D extraordinaire, Luguentz Dort.
Now, after their impressive showing, they find themselves boasting a 9-11 record — which, interestingly enough, is better than the one they had at this point in the season last year — and are just three games outside of a top-8 playoff seed in the Western Conference.
Because of their surprising play to start the year, many fans have begun to shift their desire of a tankathon 2021 and, instead, hope to see something similar to the Cinderella story they experienced in 2020.
However, unlike last year’s squad, this current OKC Thunder roster is without an established star to help lead them into such a position.
The OKC Thunder should consider dealing for a star at this year’s deadline
Sure, SGA is certainly an up-and-coming stud in this league and looks every bit like a franchise cornerstone, but this team could definitely use more firepower to run alongside the third-year guard.
Many of you have expressed your desire for this ball club to cash in on some of their draft capital — a potential total of 16 first-round picks over the next seven years — and, in turn, bring on an established player that can help Oklahoma City compete both in the now as well as moving forward.
We at TI agree with this logic and, over the past few months, have brought up a few players that we believe would be worth parting with picks for.
Now, with the NBA’s March 25th trade deadline now within sight, we present to you 3 star players that the OKC Thunder should heavily target:
OKC Thunder trade target No. 1) Lauri Markkanen
Ok, so we understand we said “star” players but, frankly, in our minds, a guy like Lauri Markkanen deserves to be mentioned in a category such as this, for his star status is rising with every game he’s playing in 2020-21.
After the power forward and Chicago Bulls couldn’t come to terms on a contract extension earlier this season, the trade rumor mill started churning.
Should their losing ways continue on, the team could opt to punt on the season and take part in a fire sale, shipping off their more valuable assets of Zach LaVine and Markkanen in an effort to nab a pick or two in return.
At 24-years-old with his size (7-feet, 240-pounds) and skill set (39 percent shooting from deep this season), giving up some capital for the Finnish-born baller seems like an intriguing idea.
In just over 31 minutes per game, Markkanen is posting averages of 19.6 points and 6.2 rebounds on 51 percent shooting from the field.
Bringing him aboard would give the OKC Thunder a tremendous talent to slot in at either the starting four or five right away while also giving Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a fantastic pick-and-roll/ pop participant who could also buy a bucket for himself and play solid defense, helping the team on both ends of the floor.
Should the Bulls place him on the block, Sam Presti should be very interested in pursuing Lauri Markkanen.