The OKC Thunder have already opened the flood gates in regard to the trade season and, with eight days left to go, many expect them to continue this trend in one way or another.
Starting off with the deal that shipped Hamidou Diallo to the Detroit Pistons, it appears as though he was the first domino to fall leading up to the March 25th Trade Deadline, as the Thunder have a few other contracts at their disposal that they’ll likely wish to part with for more draft capital.
Ultimately, the goal for Sam Presti and co. is to set up this franchise for a new era via rebuild. As things currently stand, they seem to already have their franchise centerpiece moving forward in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Now, the objective is to simply fill out the pieces surrounding him.
Though some organizations may look to the trade route to bring on some already established players to take on the role of Robin to SGA’s Batman, it appears Oklahoma City’s front office is looking to take the slow approach to find such a sidekick, hence why they have a treasure trove of assets large enough to roster an entire NBA team by the year 2027.
The OKC Thunder could look to trade Hill, Horford, and Muscala for more picks
Though Presti likes to do his dealings in relatively quiet fashion, this has not stopped the rumor mill from churning and, most recently, Bleacher Report writer Andy Bailey discussed his thoughts on what the OKC Thunder’s biggest “need” heading towards the deadline is, and predicts 3 specific players could be used as trade bate to acquire said needs:
"…if Diallo was that easy to take off the Thunder’s hands, it’s hard to imagine anyone not named Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being off limits.Al Horford, George Hill and maybe even Mike Muscala, a 6’10” big with an above-average three-point percentage for his career, could probably land OKC more picks."
While there are some who believe the Thunder should strongly consider bringing on some actual players by March 25th, B/R believes Presti will simply look to add more assets to his already illustrious draft collection.