3 Oklahoma City Thunder trades to get Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a co-star
By Jack Simone
3 Oklahoma City Thunder trades to get Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a co-star: Lauri Markkanen
At first glance, some may question why the Utah Jazz would consider trading Lauri Markkanen after he just made his first All-Star team. However, this could be the perfect time for them to do so.
Just look at what the San Antonio Spurs did last summer. They weren’t good enough to compete just yet, so instead of hanging on to Dejounte Murray, who had also just made his first All-Star team, they traded him.
The Oklahoma City Thunder should look to capitalize on that same mindset, enticing the Jazz with a package of picks only they would be comfortable giving up for Markkanen.
Markkanen will be 26 years old for the entirety of next year and is coming off an insanely efficient season where he averaged 25.6 points per game. And with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way, Markkanen would get even better looks than he did this past season.
Oklahoma City is one of the only teams around the league who could give up three first-round picks and still have plenty of draft capital left over to work with. Plus, Danny Ainge has been known to love draft picks.
Utah would be able to get even younger while adding three more picks to their cabinet, while the Thunder add a secondary scoring option capable of taking tons of pressure off of Gilgeous-Alexander.
Potential Thunder starting lineup: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams, Lauri Markkanen, Chet Holmgren
Editors note: I do not think the Jazz do this