The OKC Thunder come into the second half of the 2020-21 season with some big decisions to make.
Though they’ve managed to impress through the first 36 games of action, and have swayed some fans from wanting to see the team tank, ultimately Sam Presti and co. must decide what path they wish to embark on for the rest of this year’s campaign.
According to rumblings across the league, perhaps the most likely scenario is that Oklahoma City will stear more into their rebuild to try and nab themselves a top-tier selection in this upcoming draft and, in turn, trade away some of their more impactful veteran assets.
Arguably their most highly touted seasoned commodity is veteran floor general, George Hill who, according to Shams Charania, is a ‘hot commodity’ across opposing front offices.
The OKC Thunder should consider dangling George Hill at the deadline
Recently, we here at TI penned a piece discussing 3 different teams that could be interested in trading for the OKC Thunder veteran and, much to our liking, the reception from you all was quite positive — we love you guys.
Doubling down on this specific topic, today we present to you 3 trades with these respective teams that Oklahoma City’s front office should pursue:
Trade No. 1) George Hill heads to Philadelphia, OKC Thunder land a first-rounder
First on the list, we find the Philadelphia 76ers landing the 34-year-old point guard to help bolster their backcourt and, in turn, better fill out their roster to complement their stars in Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Tobias Harris.
This team is in a win-now mode and Hill is a win-now commodity, having seen deep playoff runs in each of the past three seasons, one of which (2018) even found him logging minutes in the NBA Finals.
Because of this mentality, and their current status as the best team in the Eastern Conference standings as well as boasting the third-best record (24-12) in the entire association, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that General Manager Elton Brand would be willing to part with their upcoming first-rounder that, in all likelihood, will be one of, if not the very last pick.
To make the numbers work, we see the expiring deals of veteran forward Mike Scott and the underutilized and, frankly, underperforming fourth-year center Tony Bradley whom, after the season wraps, Presti may even wish to entertain the idea of re-signing him, as he’s still only 23 with impressive size (6-10, with a 7-5 wingspan).
Trade No. 2) OKC Thunder swap the aging veteran for a struggling youth
Next on the list, we see George Hill heading to the Big Apple to link up with the surprisingly competitive New York Knicks.
Boasting their best first-half record since the 2012-13 season, the New York Knicks are looking to snap their current playoff drought at seven seasons. As things currently stand, they are the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 19-18 and have won five of their last seven outings leading into this past All-Star weekend.
Now, as they look to continue their winning ways and, in turn, gear up for the second half of the season, New York’s front office may wish to swap out their underutilized/ unwanted assets for players that can actually aid in their quest to compete.
Hill could be a great addition to this coy 3-point shooting team and traditional point guard-less rotation.
One player who we believe could be on the table in such a transaction is third-year wing Kevin Knox who, in recent weeks, has caught our attention as a second-chance player the OKC Thunder should consider targeting.
Citing his connection with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander coupled with his raw skill set, in a piece we penned on this potential pairing, we discussed our belief that Oklahoma City and their impressive development team could be the key to tapping into Knox’s potential:
"Now, we get it, Knox has not played well during his time spent in the NBA. Through three years in the league, he is posting underwhelming averages of 9.3 points and 3.5 rebounds on just 37 percent shooting from the floor and 34 percent shooting from deep. However, keep in mind, he was one of the most highly-touted prospects coming out of college in 2018 — even ahead of SGA — after posting per-game averages of 15.6 points and 5.4 rebounds on 45 percent shooting from the field and 34 percent shooting from deep while also displaying impressive defensive versatility with his size (6-9, 7-1/4 wingspan) and IQ. Let’s also not skip over the fact that the man has played for arguably the most dysfunctional franchise in the Knicks. Seeing three different coaches in all three seasons of his career (two of which were just not good at their jobs, though I give Mike Miller a pass) is not something that’s easy for a young player. Throughout the years, Oklahoma City has proven to be tremendous at player development and, in year one, head coach Mark Daigneault looks as though he’s continuing this trend — examples include Isaiah Roby, Justin Jackson, Kenrich Williams, etc. Still just 21-years-old, Kevin Knox is simply too young to give up on. Despite the lackadaisical start to his career overall, he has shown glimpses of potentially 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."
The former eighth overall pick has struggled during his tenure in the NBA to date.
However, his potential is certainly worth taking a gamble on, even if it means having him come back as the main attraction in a deal for George Hill.
Trade No. 3) OKC Thunder get a young prospect from the desperate Boston Celtics
This deal is somewhat of a variation of one proposed by Bleacher Report a few weeks back.
The one they concocted saw both Aaron Nesmith and Romeo Langford coming to the Sooner State in exchange for the likes of Hill and Trevor Ariza (remember him?).
Truth be told, a haul such as the one they proposed would be an absolute dream scenario for the OKC Thunder. Unfortunately, however, that’s likely all it would be — a dream.
Still, we don’t believe B/R was too far off to be under the impression that the Boston Celtics could be desperate enough to give up one of said young talents in a deal for two veterans who play both sides of the ball.
Because of this, we believe it’s not out of the question to think they’d be willing to take on the likes of Hill and Ariza for Langford, the contracts of Tristan Thompson & Jeff Teague, and a 2021 second-round pick (OKC’s own).
Of course, the return piece that is of the most value to Oklahoma City would be Langford.
The sophomore wing, though finding himself in and out of the G-League during his rookie season and has not played a single minute in 2020-21 due to injury, has shown to be an intriguing two-way player who has shown flashes of being a lockdown defender and has showcased solid distribution and scoring skills during his short tenure with the Cs.
During his one-and-done season at Indiana University back in 2018-19, Langford posted 16.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game on 45 percent shooting from the field, while playing the majority of his campaign with a broken thumb that required offseason surgery.
At just 21-years-old he fits the timeline that this current rebuilding OKC squad is on, while his size (6-4, 6-10.5 wingspan) and two-way skillset is the exact mold that Presti is seemingly infatuated with.