B/R believes OKC Thunder could realistically trade for Porzingis

The OKC Thunder may have just lost out on a highly-coveted top-5 selection in this year’s NBA Draft, but the offseason is still young enough for them to find a way to strike gold once again and continue adding to their illustrious treasure trove of draft capital for the future — after all, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Currently in possession of 34 picks through the year 2027, one could argue that Oklahoma City may wish to start cashing in on their assets by flipping them for either a higher pick in this year’s draft or an already-established player to pair with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

However, there are those who believe that continuing to stockpile capital could be the way to go for Presti and co., and the folks at Bleacher Report recently suggested a way the Thunder could do this while also ridding themselves of recently acquired point guard, Kemba Walker, and his two-years, $73 million remaining on his contract.

The idea — trade the former All-Star to the Dallas Mavericks for Kristaps Porzingis and several future picks.

The actual trade reads as follows:

Citing their obvious obsession with draft picks, coupled with the fact that KP could be viewed as a long-term fixture within the rotation for the OKC Thunder (still only 25), writer Dan Favale believes this proposed transaction could wind up benefiting both teams rather well.

"Contrary to their situation with a 31-year-old Kemba, the Thunder can view Porzingis as part of their longer-term plan. If they don’t, they can easily talk themselves into buoying his trade value over the next year or two. Porzingis looked overmatched defensively during the playoffs, but he should regain some of his explosive mobility over his first injury-free offseason in roughly forever.Pick swaps are also uniquely valuable to the Thunder. They control first-rounders from the Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns next season—two teams that, provided they remain intact and healthy, should have better records than Dallas. They will have 2025 first-rounders from the Philadelphia 76ers and either the Houston Rockets or Clippers, in addition to their own, to use as swap magnets, too.Dallas’ side of this trade is more straightforward. It saves $6.5 million off this offseason’s cap sheet, $7.3 million in 2022-23 and $36 million in 2023-24 while bringing back a high-end shot-creating partner for Luka Doncic.Yes, the state of Kemba’s knees are a red flag, but he’s an All-Star scorer if healthy. This was the first time he converted under 35 percent of his off-the-dribble threes since 2015-16—and he still put them down at a fine-not-great 34.7 percent clip. He is, in all likelihood, better than any player the Mavs will sign during free agency."

We at TI have talked quite often about the idea of the OKC Thunder pursuing a deal involving Kristaps Porzingis, and most recently broached the topic just a few short days ago with the same logic as Favale.