OKC Thunder: Darius Bazley traded to Dallas in recent B/R piece

The OKC Thunder could be in line for quite a few roster shakeups this upcoming summer, and it likely won’t be just by means of the NBA Draft.

Yes, while Sam Presti and co. do have the fourth-best odds of landing the top selection come July’s event, and will be on the board twice in the first round alone, there are two other ways we could see this team make some additions.

The first route is by means of free agency, where Oklahoma City will have the most spending power in the entire association as they could see as much as $55 million in salary space at their disposal.

The second, and perhaps more entertaining avenue the front office could realistically embark on is by means of being active participants on the trade market.

Coming into this offseason, it was already apparent that the Thunder would be heading down this path, as they’ll be looking into dealing away Al Horford to a team better fit for his services.

However, as time has gone by, some players across the league have been rumored to be on the outs with their respective franchises, which could, in theory, net a team willing to serve as a trade partner some draft capital along with the estranged talents.

What team likes picks more than the OKC Thunder?

Perhaps the biggest name rumored to be on bad terms with his team is Dallas Mavericks star center, Kristaps Porzingis, who, after their first-round series loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, reportedly stated that he feels somewhat like an afterthought rather than a partner when running alongside Luka Doncic.

With this buzz, fans and media are speculating if the team should cut ties with the 25-year-old, and, naturally, we hopped in on the discussion and stated that the OKC Thunder should strongly consider a pursuit.

Recently, Bleacher Report also shared their belief that such a possibility could be realistic, and went about concocting a trade that landed the talented 7-3 KP in the Sooner State.

The exact deal reads as follows:

In this hypothetical exchange, as you can see writer Greg Swartz sends Darius Bazley over to Dallas as the main talent in exchange which, though he has yet to prove capable of even reaching the heights that Porzingis has, would be a tough sight to see for OKC Thunder fans.

Over the past two years, he has grown into somewhat of a fan favorite for the Oklahoma City faithful and has some believing he could develop into a Jayson Tatum-esque player.

This past season, the sophomore forward showcased a raw overall talent and displayed impressive athleticism and two-way potential while posting 13.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game in his starting role with the ball club.

Again, though it would be tough to see the Thunder dealing away the 20-year-old, from solely a value perspective it’s an unbelievable deal for OKC.

That said, being that they have no reason to start dealing away young and promising assets unless they’re getting a first-round pick in the process or simply swapping Horford for Kristaps Porzingis, it’s likely in the best interest for the OKC Thunder to turn down such an offer should it ever wind up coming their way.