OKC Thunder: Finding logic in the Hamidou Diallo trade to the Pistons

Despite finding himself posting career numbers all across the board, Friday night Hamidou Diallo was traded from the OKC Thunder to the Detroit Pistons in a move that has some fans a bit perplexed.

Though the third-year pro may not have been the ultimate catalyst for this over-performing Thunder group — that moniker belongs to All-Star snub Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — his production has been key to their success thus far in 2020-21.

At 22-years-old, the wing clearly fit the timeline of this rebuilding Oklahoma City squad, while his per game stats of 11.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and a steal per game on 48 percent shooting from the field suggested that his production was quite beneficial for the team as well.

However, these factoids didn’t stop Sam Presti and co. from shipping him off to Motor City for a return package of Svi Mykhailiuk and a 2027 second-round pick.

Finding the logic in the decision by the OKC Thunder to trade Hamidou Diallo

Now, at first glance one may not completely understand the logic of this deal. In fact, as I write this piece I, too, am not completely sure as to why the OKC Thunder opted to make this specific move.

That said, we at TI have some ideas.

For starters, though it is not the unanimous hope from fans of the organization, this move could have been, in large, due to Presti’s desire to have this team lean more into tank mode during this second-half stretch of the season.

As things currently stand, the Thunder are 16-21, are in the 11th seed in the Western Conference, and, if the season were to end today, the front office would be looking at a back-end top-10 pick rather than a preferred top-3 to be in a position to land Oklahoma State phenom Cade Cunningham.

Perhaps another drive for Oklahoma City to make the Diallo deal was, in part, due to how well he’s been playing this season. Though on the surface this has been a great story for spectators to watch, for a guy like Presti, his mindset is geared towards the future.

In the final year of his rookie deal, the former second-round pick is currently only making $1.6 million. Once his contract expires at the end of the season, he’ll be up for a new payday which, with the way he’s been playing, could price him out of the range in which OKC would be willing to pay him.

By trading him away now, they forfeit the potential of losing him to restricted free agency for nothing in return.

One final train of thought is the fact that being the OKC Thunder rank fifth in 3-point attempts per game (37.8) but convert at the fourth-worst rate (34.4 percent), the idea of swapping out a tertiary guy like Diallo for a player like Mykhailiuk makes quite a lot of sense.

On the year, despite his career marks, Diallo is only converting on 29 percent of his 3-pointers and holds a career average of just 26 percent, while Mykhailiuk has knocked down 37 percent of such attempts throughout his three-year tenure in the association.

Regardless of the logic, we appreciated the time that Hami spent in the Sooner State, and wish him nothing but the best in his new stint with the Pistons and wherever he may venture to after.