Why didn’t the OKC Thunder trade for Donovan Mitchell?

Time. What is time? As Pink Floyd described, time is ticking away, the moments that make up a dull day, fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way…waiting for someone or something to show you the way. Time can also be the retort for disgruntled OKC Thunder fans today after the Utah Jazz made a blockbuster trade for Donovan Mitchell on Thursday.

Why not us? That was a common question I was asked by Thunder fans over the weekend, confused as to why the Cleveland Cavaliers, an Eastern Conference play-in team from a year ago with a fun young core, made this all-in move for Donovan Mitchell at a price that would have been reasonable for OKC Thunder general manager Sam Presti.

The time was not suitable for the Oklahoma City Thunder to take a home run swing on Donovan Mitchell, despite the reasonable price

Cleveland will wake up this morning, on the Tuesday following Labor Day and five days out of the Cleveland Browns open their season, with the Guardians in a tight race for the AL Central division, and talk about…the Cavaliers. There is actual excitement in Cleveland for basketball around a team that does not include LeBron James on it.

The Cavs have not won a playoff series without LeBron James in uniform since 1998, and outside of the hometown kid, there has not been much to root for in that city. While there is no guarantee how this will work out on the court, this has already provided fans a lot of “feel good” to add Donovan Mitchell to this core.

Mitchell is not a free agent until 2026, that is plenty of time to gel with All-Star caliber guard Darius Garland, a potential generation big in Evan Mobley, plus Jarrett Allen, Isaac Okoro, plus nice role players to fill in depth.

So why couldn’t the Thunder get that instant gratification and validation of their rebuild as Cleveland did a week ago? Bad Timing.

The Oklahoma City Thunder just lost Chet Holmgren for the entire season, with a generational prospect in an incredibly deep draft on the horizon and the team is only in possession of their own first-round pick, and a team that even with a healthy Holmgren was only poised to be the 13th best team in the West, the timing just was not right for OKC.

I understand the frustration, I understand feeling as though this rebuild has dragged on forever despite it only being two years old, and I understand feeling as though this price tag on a disgruntled all-star was obtainable.

With all that said, I would not let this sway your opinion of the rebuild or Sam Presti. He still has a ton of future draft assets, a projected top ten pick in the loaded 2023 NBA Draft class, more cap space next offseason, and a proven track record of making trades and parting with young talent and/or draft assets.

While Cleveland will enjoy their shiny new shooting guard, the Oklahoma City Thunder had to sit on the sidelines due to poor timing. OKC still has a bright future even this season with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams, Ousmane Dieng, Jaylin Williams, Tre Mann, Lu Dort, Kenrich Williams, and Aaron Wiggins leading the way.

How those players progress throughout the next year will determine if Presti jumps at the next disgruntled NBA All-Star.