As fans, media, and, frankly, everyone familiar with the NBA already knows, the OKC Thunder are a team in the midst of a full-fledged rebuild.
After making it to five straight postseason appearances, and ten overall throughout their 13-year existence, General Manager Sam Presti has set sail towards the future, with development and youth being a key component to their excursion.
For any team in a rebuilding phase, perhaps the most valuable commodity to possess is draft capital.
Due to their wheeling and dealings over the past several years, Oklahoma City’s treasure chest is filled to the brim with such assets, having a grand total of 34 draft picks spanning from the 2021 through the 2027 draft, 17 of which find themselves falling in the first-round while 17 are second-rounders.
The most recent big score that nabbed them valuable draft capital came this past offseason, where they managed to flip the likes of Chris Paul for salary matches and a 2022 first-round pick.
When he first touched down in the Sooner State, CP3 was coming off of an injury-plagued season and was viewed as an “untouchable” in the absolute worst way due to his newly-signed $159 million contract that would pay him an average of nearly $40 million a year through his age 36 season.
As we all know, Presti took a chance on him in the deal that sent franchise cornerstone Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets and, in the end, it paid off as the Thunder gave him the stage to showcase his skills once more, leading to a resurgence season for the point guard that helped re-establish himself as a top tier player in the league and, in turn, land OKC yet another first-rounder.
The OKC Thunder should consider bestowing the CP3 treatment to 2 fallen stars
Now, while this turnout may not happen with every fallen star in the league, we at TI believe, should they wish to partake once more in such an endeavor, it could be a low-risk scenario for the franchise and, in turn, would give them another chance to resurrect a career to hopefully swap out for more draft capital down the road.
Today, we present to you 2 former starts that Oklahoma City should consider buying low on in an effort to flip for more capital a la CP3: