One trade to make OKC Thunder the best defense in the NBA

OKC Thunder roster construction would be impacted by the addition of Dorian Finney-Smith.

Dorian Finney-Smith being on that aforementioned three-year deal, is somewhat comparable to Lu Dort, who has four more years left, making 15.2 million dollars, scaling up to 17.2 million in the final year of the pact in 2026-27. While many fans expected the selection of Cason Wallace to be what made Dort expendable, it could potentially be a trade for Dorian Finney-Smith.

Adding the Nets wing would make OKC better for this coming season, but in the 2024 offseason and beyond, it gives the team a little bit more freedom to explore possible Dort trades. Using his talent, contract, and future draft picks to continue to bolster this budding OKC Thunder squad.

Sure, everyone in Bricktown would prefer Dort’s defense to Finney-Smith, and there is no problem with rostering both to smoother opponents, but Finney-Smith’s offense upgrade compared to Dort might make him a passable replacement for the sake of a bigger move.

Ultimately, I think Lu Dort will look much-improved offensive this season, but the business of the NBA leads to tough decisions and the need to evolve your roster. After all, Boston did ship out Marcus Smart this offseason.

At the end of the day, the OKC Thunder love Lu Dort, rightfully so, and this is just a hypothetical trade. But there are a lot of pros to exploring the defensive wing who might be on the move from Brooklyn.