OKC Thunder: Al Horford traded to Spurs in B/R’s latest piece

The OKC Thunder find themselves watching the NBA Postseason from the comfort of their own abodes for the first time in five years, and for just the second time throughout their 13-year existence.

Though this may be a bit upsetting to some, many fans are happy to see Oklahoma City residing at the bottom of the league’s standings, for it simply means that Sam Presti’s tank is going according to plan.

Now, the next few steps in phase one of their franchise rebuild will be executed this offseason, as they find themselves with quite a few objectives that are likely to be viewed as top priorities.

Aside from the obvious offseason goal of having a successful NBA Draft, perhaps the front office’s biggest priority this offseason will be to find a trade destination for their veteran big man, Al Horford.

Acquired last offseason in the Danny Green deal to the Philadelphia 76ers, Horford managed to produce quite efficiently during his 2020-21 season with the organization.

Through 28 games played, the 34-year-old center posted averages of 14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.4 assists on 45 percent shooting from the floor and 37 percent shooting from deep.

Ultimately, post the trade deadline, Horford and the OKC Thunder mutually agreed to have the former All-Star sit out the remainder of the season both to let the youngsters on the roster get bolstered minutes as well as to simply preserve his improved value so he could hold on to his increased trade stock.

Now, after such a solid season, we at TI believe there could be several teams finding themselves interested in dealing for the big man this summer and have gone about and listed a few potential destinations throughout the past several months.

Other media outlets have gone about and dipped their toes in such a pool invested in thinking up hypothetical trade scenarios involving Horford, and most recently Bleacher Report concocted an idea that would send the big man away from the Sooner State and down to San Antonio to team up with Gregg Popovich and the Spurs.

The proposed deal reads as follows:

As seen above writer, Gregg Swartz, exchanges Horford for the likes of fourth-year two-guard, Derrick White who is viewed as being a solid potential addition both due to his skill and age.

"Horford just seems like a Spur. He’s a smart veteran with playoff experience who can contribute in a number of ways. San Antonio is pretty thin in the frontcourt, as evidenced by Jonas Valanciunas’ 23 points, 23 rebounds and three blocks in Wednesday’s play-in game.Horford would help balance the roster, and the Spurs would get a first-rounder for taking on his salary, giving them trade capital or another pick they can use next year. Losing White would hurt, but it would also open up more playing time and shots for players such as Lonnie Walker IV and Dejounte Murray.White, 26, is still young enough to fit OKC’s rebuild and also would take pressure off Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.Getting rid of Horford’s contract is the main play for the Thunder, and it’d be well worth flipping one of their many firsts if it meant getting White in return."

Perhaps the biggest deterrent from this proposed trade is seeing the OKC Thunder attaching a future first-round pick to the deal.

Unfortunately, however, though draft picks are incredibly valuable, in order to part ways with the remaining $53.5 million left on Al Horford’s contract, it’s more than likely that Presti will have to include some sort of capital in this department.

Seeing that the proposed draft rights are top-12 protected, coupled with the fact that it is attached to the title-contending Phoenix Suns, one could argue that, though it may be a first-rounder, it could easily wind up being a later selection which, though still useful, is not nearly as valuable as many of their other picks they have in tow.

On top of this, remember, the proposed package also sees White coming back to the OKC Thunder who, through 36 games played, posted per-game averages of 15.4 points, 3.5 assists, three boards, and a block on 41 percent shooting from the floor and 35 percent shooting from deep.

Is this one of the big-name deals that fans have grown accustomed to over the last several seasons? No.

That said, for how challenging it’ll likely be to trade Al Horford this offseason, B/R’s proposed deal is certainly not a bad option for the OKC Thunder to consider pursuing.