The OKC Thunder are making moves people!
Kicking off trade season a little under two weeks ago with the deal that sent Hamidou Diallo to the Detroit Pistons, followed by a move a few days later that shipped Trevor Ariza to the Miami Heat, Sam Presti and co. have managed to strike again, this time in the form of a George Hill deal.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Oklahoma City is sending the veteran point guard to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for expiring contracts and two future picks.
Philadelphia is acquiring OKC's George Hill for Tony Bradley, Terrance Fergusson and two future second-round picks, sources tell ESPN. Austin Rivers goes to OKC as part of a three-way deal.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 25, 2021
Now, as we begin to approach the 2 PM (CDT) trade deadline, we at Thunderous Intentions believe there are a few more moves that the OKC Thunder front office could still wind up making, one of which involving veteran big Al Horford.
One specific move we believe the team could make involving the center is a deal that would send the remaining two years of his contract to the San Antonio Spurs.
The OKC Thunder should strongly consider sending Al Horford to the Spurs
A specific package involving Horford heading to San Antonio could theoretically read as follows:
With the way that Horford has been playing this season, one may be a bit underwhelmed by the fact that we propose the idea of the OKC Thunder only getting a couple of second-round picks and an expiring contract in LaMarcus Aldridge.
That said, let’s not forget that the man is 34-years-old, is under contract for the next two seasons, and will be making $26.5 million by the time he’s 36-years-old. Because of this, pickings are undoubtedly slim in regard to potential trade destinations and the longer they wait the harder it’ll be to trade him.
With this move, at least Presti can bring back picks while also managing to clear cap space along the way — luxuries that are never bad to attain.
As for the Spurs, they add a still productive Horford and his averages of 14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.4 assists on 37 percent shooting from deep to this playoff-hopeful squad and their lackluster center rotation.
Upon snagging Aldridge, the Thunder could also just opt to simply buy him out, thus giving the team’s young bucks in the frontcourt (Moses Brown, Isaiah Roby, Aleksej Pokuševski) even more time on the hardwood and, in turn, it could aid in their development.
What say you Thunder fans? Are you open for such a trade idea, or would you rather pursue something else entirely?
Whatever your thoughts on, leave them in the comments section below!