With a month of games in the books, the OKC Thunder are emulating their performance of last season by overachieving. That iteration of the team had many more assets Sam Presti could package in deals such as Al Horford, Trevor Ariza, and players who the VP flipped before they ever donned a Thunder jersey.
Since Presti traded Paul George and Russell Westbrook he’s made a habit of adding veteran
talents who were able to resurrect their careers in Oklahoma City.
Arguably the biggest resurrection project was the deal to bring Chris Paul to the OKC Thunder in exchange for Russell Westbrook. At the time both point guards had massive contracts with years remaining on them but it was The Brodie who was deemed as the more talented player.
In fact, with the conflict between James Harden and CP3 many were calling his contract an albatross and some writers hinted his best days were behind him. HA!
Instead, Paul captained one of the most entertaining and beloved rosters ever in OKC. That season featured the clutch time crew who came one bucket short in Game 7 of taking down those Rockets.
The Point God put the league on notice and when he was moved so the Thunder could begin their rebuild he was moved via a sign and trade sending him to Phoenix and he took that young crew to the NBA Finals in his first season with them.
Although Danilo Gallinari and Dennis Schroder weren’t considered on the downside of their careers there were questions regarding their value but like CP3 their tenure in OKC upped the interest and value.
It’s almost become comical how well vets play for the Thunder and how it fosters new contacts adding longevity to these vets’ careers.
Last season, it was Al Horford who became the chosen vet and he landed back in Boston with the Celtics recognizing how valued he was originally in that system.
Bleacher Report taps OKC Thunder Favors as one of 10 likeliest to be traded
This season the roster is primarily built upon youngsters who are under 25 years old. The exceptions are Derrick Favors acquired from the Utah Jazz and Mike Muscala who the club re-signed this past offseason in free agency.
There are other assets like Kenrich Williams or Ty Jerome for example, but they are also viable teammates who fit the current rebuilding process of OKC.
Favors seems like the most logical vet Presti could package which is what Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report noted in his article: 10 NBA Players Likeliest to Be Traded Next
"The Thunder didn’t trade for Favors this offseason with the intention of keeping him long-term; rather, they were more interested in collecting additional draft capital from the Utah Jazz in order to take on his remaining two-year, $19.9 million contract.Like Al Horford, George Hill, Danny Green and Trevor Ariza before him, expect Favors to be the latest veteran whose stay doesn’t last long in OKC.Over 11 games (six starts), the 30-year-old center is averaging 6.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.5 steals and shooting 50.8 percent in his 17.3 minutes, even registering a positive swing rating (plus-1.5 points per 100 possessions).While teams should no longer view him as a rim-protecting starting center, Favors still brings value as a rebounding veteran off the bench who can help a playoff team.If the Thunder can get so much as a future second-rounder for him, they’ll likely do it."
Swartz’s excerpt touches on the right reasons why Favors would be a coveted asset and easily moved in a deal. I’m not sure he’s not undervaluing Favors especially once you get into the meat of his statistics.
I’ll revisit that idea in the coming days to showcase why Presti could get more value than a second-round and also dive into the pros and cons of why the OKC Thunder would or wouldn’t consider trading him.