As we approach the March 25th NBA Trade Deadline, OKC Thunder fans are gearing up for a wide range of possibilities.
On the one hand, the franchise finds itself in possession of a few valuable trade commodities — especially in the eyes of playoff-contending teams — in Trevor Ariza, Al Horford, and especially their veteran point guard George Hill.
The idea for many is, being that Oklahoma City is in the midst of a rebuild, they could afford to offload these players in exchange for more valuable assets such as draft picks.
On the other hand, however, being that they already have so many draft picks at their disposal — a potential total of 16 first-round picks over the next seven years — some are under the impression that the team should look to add on already established players in this league, either via a trade involving the aforementioned veterans or by exchanging some of said capital.
The OKC Thunder should consider trading for a few potential building blocks
The objective is to construct a roster to help better complement franchise player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the long term, for this team has its sights set on the future.
In the past, we’ve discussed trades the OKC Thunder could make to bring on a sidekick for the All-Star deserving guard to help both in the now as well as moving forward.
Today, we take more of a big picture approach, as we present 3 potential franchise building blocks Sam Presti should consider trading for:
OKC Thunder trade target No. 1) Lonzo Ball
According to a recent report by The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the New Orleans Pelicans are open to the idea of moving point guard Lonzo Ball ahead of this year’s trade deadline.
If this is actually the case, the OKC Thunder should consider pursuing the fourth-year point guard for a multitude of reasons.
The former second overall pick may not have lived up to the hype that surrounded him when coming into the league, but nonetheless, he’s proven to be a talented dual-threat floor general who can set up his teammates for easy looks while also having the ability to get back on defense and be an absolute pest.
Still just 23-years-old, Ball is finding himself averaging 14 points, 4.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game on 42 percent shooting from the floor and 38 percent shooting from deep, all while competing for minutes in a surprisingly crowded backcourt.
With his age coupled with his versatility and size (6-6 with a 6-9 wingspan), the intrigue surrounding the point guard should be high for any team looking to bolster their backcourt.
Sure, one could argue that the Thunder already have Gilgeous-Alexander as their guard of the future, but he can excel at either the one or the two. Last season we also got to see how well he can play when running alongside a ball-dominant point guard.
Having a set-up artist like Ball could only stand to help get SGA (and, frankly, the rest of OKC’s players) cleaner looks at the basket while also giving the team yet another long and lanky talent that Presti seemingly covets.