OKC Thunder: 2 multi-team Victor Oladipo blockbusters
By Mark Nilon
Oladipo heads to New York, Houston brings on picks, OKC nabs two young assets
One of the most talked-about trade destinations for Victor Oladipo seemingly since last season has been the New York Knicks. Now, with the fact that they find themselves legitimately vying for a postseason berth, we can easily see the Knickerbockers going hard at pursuing the wing.
Unlike past years where they’ve gone after stars, however, we don’t expect the team’s front office to throw the kitchen sink towards any potential deals, and, luckily, it appears they won’t need to with the fact that Houston really has no leg to stand on.
The draw for the Rockets in this specific scenario is the expiring contract of Alec Burks to help clear up cap space in free agency and the two future first-round draft picks.
The Knicks, of course, bring on the stud shooting guard to help them try and continue their current trend of bringing the franchise out of the depths of mediocrity that they’ve been in for the better part of the last two decades.
Currently in the fourth seed out in the Eastern Conference, New York boasts a record of 18-17, have an All-Star in Julius Randle, and a potential Coach of the Year candidate in Tom Thibodeau. Adding the 28-year-old to this along with the savvy sharpshooting veteran George Hill into the mix would only strengthen their chances of ending their now seven-year postseason drought.
The Knicks are already proving to be an attractive destination for stars to gravitate towards in the future and, realistically, bringing on a player like Oladipo would only make them more of an enticing option for such players.
As for the OKC Thunder, we see them bring on two players that, in the past, we at the site have expressed interest in bringing over to the Sooner State in Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina.
One of the most highly-touted prospects coming out of college in 2018, Knox — who was also a teammate of Oklahoma City stud Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at Kentucky — is still just 21-years-old and, though his tenure in the NBA has not panned out as planned, has shown glimpses of being a solid role player, especially as a floor-spacing forward — shooting 38 percent from deep this season while converting on 40 percent of his catch-and-shoot long-range attempts.
As for Ntilikina who, like Knox, has certainly not lived up to his lottery status, he himself is still just 22-years-old and could also wind up being a quality role player down the road.
Boasting impressive size for a point guard (6-4 with a 7-1 wingspan) and stellar defensive instincts, the French native is a raw talent who is still trying to come into his own in the league and currently finds himself shooting a whopping 47 percent shooting from deep, giving the hope that he may have the potential to develop into a quality 3-and-D asset.
No, these guys are not stars by any stretch of the word. That said, with the right amount of player development (something OKC has been known to be great at doing since their inception), they could potentially pan out as solid assets for a ball club down the road.