N.A.N proposes trade that sends OKC Thunder star, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, to the New York Knicks
The OKC Thunder are a team in the midst of a full-fledged franchise rebuild, and the 2020-21 season has reaffirmed this sentiment with their obvious second-half tank job.
That said, in comparison to all the other teams across the league in such a lowly phase, Oklahoma City seems to have the brightest future and the biggest reason for this is because they have the likes of third-year combo guard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, in tow.
At just 22-years-old, SGA is finding himself posting stellar per-game averages of 23.7 points, 5.9 assists, and 4.7 rebounds on 51 percent shooting from the floor and 42 percent shooting from downtown, putting him into the same conversation as Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Nikola Jokic as the only players in the league to be averaging over 20 points and five assists per game on the same or better shooting splits.
As we move forward towards a new era for this franchise, it’s a widely accepted concept that Sam Presti and co. will look to add more talent to the roster in an effort to better complement their budding star.
However, while this aforementioned plan seems to essentially be written in stone for the majority of those familiar with the franchise and, frankly, the NBA as a whole, surprisingly there are still some who are baselessly under the impression that OKC’s front office could entertain the idea of moving on from their young stud.
In specific, Michael Balko of NBA Analysis Network recently birthed to the world a stomach-churning trade proposal that would send Gilgeous-Alexander to the New York Knicks (he types whilst trying to hold down lunch).
The proposed trade reads as follows:
In Balko’s own words, this aforementioned trade is “exactly what they’re looking for” and is “a very fair deal” for the OKC Thunder.
The article would later go into greater depths about why this deal would be ‘beneficial’ to the franchise:
"Yes, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a great young player and is more than worthy of a maximum salary on his next contract, but his trade value could help the Thunder to go ‘all-in’ on a long-term rebuild. It’s not easy to tank for the No. 1 pick if you’re winning enough games to have strong odds to land it.The Thunder, like it or not, are going to be embarking on a rebuild this offseason. One of the main things that happen during a rebuild is the trading of star players and the addition of young talent and draft picks. This trade gives the Thunder a perfect combination of draft picks and good talent.The pair of Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley is a very nice compensation of good young talent for the Thunder to develop and the draft picks they would be receiving in return would add some top tier talent as well. Oklahoma City Thunder could allow those two prospects to put up big numbers in large roles and then flip them for more draft picks.At some point, they will have so many selections they can make robust trade offers to land elite prospects they want to take and build around. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may be a high-level young player but he isn’t a transcendent talent."
Now, with us trying to stay respectful, the only word we can use to describe this proposed deal is ludicrous.
Balko saying that this trade is exactly what the OKC Thunder is looking for automatically lessens his credibility in our opinion, as it’s inarguable that as currently constructed, the franchise is executing their rebuild to perfection.
Now, the article does have somewhat of a point when it mentions the fact that during traditional rebuilds, teams tend to start trading away their stars for draft capital.
However, what this claim doesn’t take into account is the reason for WHY this happens, and that is for a chance to get a higher pick in the draft in an effort to increase the odds of landing a young franchise player to build around.
The OKC Thunder already have that player in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, so why would they then go ahead and trade him to push them years back in their progressions?
To Balko’s credit, as you can read above, he did give an answer for why he believes they could consider the deal even with this in mind, and it would be, in his eyes, to help the team in their efforts to land the highly coveted No. 1 pick in the draft.
However, what the article seemingly doesn’t recognize is that with the fact that Oklahoma City has 34 total picks at their disposal through 2027, with 17 potentially falling in the first round — including a potential total of three in this year’s draft alone –, if they really wanted to, they could theoretically move on up via trade using some of their highly valuable capital.
Now listen, don’t get us wrong, we’re certainly not opposed to seeing this team make some trades during this coming offseason. In fact, some of us at the site — including myself — believe it could be the right thing to do.
That said, when it comes to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the man’s as close to untouchable as untouchable gets.