Bleacher Report believes the biggest offseason goal for the OKC Thunder is to find a trade partner for Al Horford
The OKC Thunder are a mere 17 games away from wrapping up their first year of a complete franchise rebuild and, in turn, entering the highly anticipated 2021 offseason.
Though the hard work seems to be over for the tanking Thunder, as they already have a franchise cornerstone in place in third-year guard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, there is still plenty of things that must be accomplished by the front office in the coming months.
Be it through thinking up big boards to rank their desired targets found in the 2021 NBA Draft class to monitoring impending free agents’ play during this final stretch of the season, the upcoming offseason is filled with a bevy of different goals in which Sam Presti and co. will try to accomplish.
However, according to Bleacher Report, of the many objectives Oklahoma City’s front office has put into place, perhaps of the most important of them all is to find a way for the team to trade veteran big man, Al Horford.
His hefty contract coupled with his non-desirable age will certainly make it a relative challenge to move the former All-Star, but writer Greg Swartz believes his production while suiting up for the OKC Thunder in 2020-21 could pique a contending team’s intrigue:
"Horford, 34, is owed $27 million next season and $26.5 million in 2021-22, though only $14.5 million of that 2021-22 salary is guaranteed.He was a solid starter for the Thunder this season, putting up 14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and shooting 36.8 percent from three. Even if he’s overpaid, Horford can help a contender.The Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks should all have interest if the two sides can make the money match."
Finding a deal might be a challenge, but if we’ve learned anything from Sam Presti over the years, it’s that he knows how to negotiate.