Report: OKC Thunder offered SGA for Cade Cunningham

The OKC Thunder are trying hard to get into the top four of the 2021 NBA Draft. The team has even gone as far as to offer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the sixth overall pick to the Detriot Pistons for the right to select Oklahoma State star Cade Cunningham first overall during Thursday’s draft according to Jake Fischer.

The OKC Thunder have seen mixed reports regarding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s availability

Fischer starts his article with an unnamed NBA executive saying “It’s going to take a [expletive] lot to get [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander] but he is no longer impossible to get.” while later stating that Sam Presti and the OKC Thunder offered up the 23-year-old guard and the 6th overall pick to Troy Weaver and the Pistons for the top pick.

Trading for a proven star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the sixth overall pick while only giving up the top pick does not sound like “a [expletive] lot.” but that evaluation is in the eye of the beholder.

Weaver is very familiar with Presti and SGA from his time with the Thunder. The now Pistons GM was part of the Thunder decision-making group that trade for the Kentucky product.

“It is all bunk.” the GM who is entering his second year told Pistons media members on Tuesday regarding trade rumors and reports.

Of course, neither GM is going to tip their hand, but with the reported surprising rejection of SGA by Weaver, and Zach Lowe dropping on his podcast that he does not believe the rising star OKC Thunder star is available, everyone certainly is leaning towards it being “bunk.”

However, judging the proposed swap, it certainly seems like a deal that is a rare lose-lose for each side. For the Pistons, sure you get a guaranteed all-star level player and take out the risk of Cade’s projections, plus whoever they would end up with at six, but they run into the same “problem” the OKC Thunder are in.

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How much closer would the Pistons be with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jonathan Kuminga, Jerami Grant, Isaiah Stewart, Saddiq Bey, and Killian Haynes?

Sure, they are in the East, but they would be in a race against time without the bevy of future draft picks the Thunder own.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a lock to sign his max extension in August, leaving the team with six more controllable years of the point guard before he is free to jump to any other organization.

For the Thunder, sure they get to reset the timeline, but at what cost? Not only are you risking Cade Cunningham not surpassing SGA in talent level, but also giving up a valuable sixth overall pick in the process.

At the end of the day, Sam Presti would have to bet Cunningham is one day destined to be the top one percent of the one percent in the NBA. The real benefit for OKC is restarting the controllable years over their (hopeful) star, trading in six years of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (some riddled with tanking), for nine years of Cunningham.

In the end, I lean closer to the executive and Zach Lowe’s evaluation of the situation than a reported Shai Gilgeous-Alexander plus six swap for Cunningham.