How the OKC Thunder helped facilitate a league-shifting trade

The OKC Thunder helped resolve a month-long NBA conflict. After James Harden went on an international bash Daryl Morey campaign, he requested a trade from the 76ers with just one destination in mind: the L.A. Clippers.

Lucky for Harden, he was only wanted by the Clippers by all accounts. Even the L.A. Clippers were not overly moved by the idea, unwilling to part with Terrance Mann to grab the star. Ultimately, they knew they did not need to bid against themselves.

However, with the Clippers’ stubbornness, and lack of future assets, and the 76ers longing for resolution, the two parties had to get a third team involved to push this over the edge. Enter the OKC Thunder and their stockpile of assets.

The OKC Thunder helped push a League-altering trade through with their pile of assets.

While many spend their days opining about the Thunder having “Too many picks,” Oklahoma City continues to prove that narrative false. We saw over the last two offseason the Thunder have made trades with the Denver Nuggets to “kick the can” down the road on these picks.

On top of it being impossible to have too much money, when you think of draft picks as currency, you can also just continue to make moves like this to move those picks further into the future when your roster is totally different than it looks today.

With the Oklahoma City Thunder sending out a 2026 NBA Draft pick to Philadelphia, the 76ers are getting the least favorable of the Thunder, Clippers, and Rockets (top-four) 2026 picks. In exchange, the Thunder are picking up a pick further out.

The OKC Thunder have gained control of the Clippers’ first-round picks from 2024-27. The Clippers owe OKC an unprotected first in 2024, swap rights in 2025, and a protected 2026 pick, and this 2027 swap. This is after the Clippers selections have already gifted Jalen Williams to the OKC Thunder.

The Clippers are betting big on James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Russell Westbrook. They gave up some depth, but ultimately, with the pieces they kept and Tyrone Lue as their bench boss, it was a gamble worth taking.