The OKC Thunder are one of the main teams to keep an eye on as we approach the March 25th NBA trade deadline.
In the midst of a complete franchise rebuild, with eyes obviously set on the future it should come as no surprise that we view Oklahoma City as a team worth monitoring over these next several days.
Perhaps the team’s two most valuable commodities rumored to be on the trade block are veterans Al Horford and George Hill, but there are other assets such as Mike Muscala who we at TI could easily see being moved for the right price as made evident by their decision to trade away Hamidou Diallo.
While fans and media alike are thinking up trade scenarios for the Thunder to consider, we here at the site believe that, of all the teams worth Sam Presti and co. pursuing a deal with, the Boston Celtics should easily be at the top of their list.
The Boston Celtics are the ideal trade partner for the OKC Thunder
Coming off of their third Eastern Conference Finals appearance in four seasons, Boston came into the 2020-21 season with high aspirations. Through 40 games played, however, they’ve seemingly fallen short of all expectations, boasting a sub-.500 record of 20-21, which places them in the eighth seed in the conference standings.
With guys like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kemba Walker in tow, this low level of production is relatively inexcusable and now, as we approach the trade deadline, Celtics nation is hoping for some moves to be made.
When analyzing the team’s roster, there is not just one specific area that needs addressing and the OKC Thunder have some suitable band-aid options for seemingly all their weak spots.
Easily their biggest weakness within the rotation is down low at the pivot and seemingly has been since the departure of former shamrock and current OKC player, Al Horford.
With rumors of interest from the fanbase circulating coupled with the C’s obvious need for a big man and their lack of assets to land ones like Nikola Vucevic, John Collins, or Myles Turner, perhaps a reunion with their former All-Star after two-years apart could be an interesting route for General Manager Danny Ainge to take at this year’s deadline.
Certainly another weakness that the team must consider addressing is their backup point guard slot, for after Walker in the depth chart is a combination of the past-peak veteran Jeff Teague and the unproven rookie Payton Pritchard.
For a championship-hopeful team, this must be improved upon.
Hill, who has been linked to the Celtics quite often this season, could be seen as a quality low-cost option for the front office to consider pursuing, as he’d bring stability to the position behind Kemba, veteran experience/ leadership, and sound two-way production.
Their 22nd ranked 3-point shooting team could also use for his 39 percent shooting clip, as well as perhaps Muscala’s 37 percent clip, who would perfectly fit the team’s want to add on “shooters with size.”
In return, the OKC Thunder could certainly find themselves nabbing a first-rounder for either Horford or Hill, but if Presti was more interested in bringing on some more youth rather than draft capital, perhaps he could use his negotiation tactics to pry away one or two of the team’s handful of first and second-year players who are simply collecting dust on the pine.
With the team’s track record of developing their young players, the idea of Oklahoma City potentially bringing on a recent lottery selection in either Romeo Langford (2019) or Aaron Nesmith (2020) should 100% be of major intrigue for both the fanbase and the franchise.
In the coming days, we’ll be deciphering the best possible trade scenarios we believe OKC should pursue with the Boston Celtics, as they are simply the best team to consider doing a deal with for this rebuilding Thunder squad.