With the NBA All-Star break officially upon us, fans are left to their own thoughts and imaginations while they wait for Sunday's illustrious exhibition and Wednesday's regular-season restart. For The Ringer's Bill Simmons, this time is being spent thinking up ways the OKC Thunder can best utilize their treasure trove of draft capital.
During a recent episode of the Ringer NBA Show, the veteran sports analyst discussed with co-host, Rob Mahoney, ways in which Oklahoma City could finally cash in on their electrifying number of trade chips accumulated over the last several seasons.
Though many have suggested the ball club should look to exchange some of them for a talent upgrade to address an area of weakness or make a blockbuster splash and pursue an already-established superstar, Simmons is proposing Sam Presti and company should look to consolidate a boatload of picks in a deal to attain the rights to snag Cooper Flagg in this year's draft.
Thunder urged to cash in on trade chips for Duke standout Cooper Flagg
Over the past few years and even ahead of the February 6 trade deadline, the Thunder have made it abundantly clear that the only moves they're focused on making are ones that swap out some of their current draft picks for more preferred ones.
And while these kinds of deals have been geared more toward two-for-one swaps or dealing, say, a 2029 second for a 2030 second, Simmons is proposing that Oklahoma City could try to group together a plethora of their higher-value draft rights in an attempt to entice the team that ultimately lands the top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft to cough up the selection to add the Duke standout.
"Could this be the year that they take that seventh, eighth, ninth Philly pick, if that's the pick, add like eight picks to it and just say 'Give us Cooper Flagg. Here's the all-time mother-load of picks.'... Let's say Charlotte gets the first pick and just gets a war chest of the all-time most picks ever in a trade from OKC just to move back six spots. You'd have to have like a four hour meeting about that," Simmons said.
While the idea on the surface may seem a tad too far-fetched, when considering both the talent upgrade and financial impact the move could have on this Thunder team Simmons' proposal actually makes a ton of sense.
This coming offseason, all three of Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be eligible to sign long-term lucrative extensions with the franchise, with the latter setting himself up to make as much as $293 million.
Though OKC currently has the luxury of boasting the seventh-lowest payroll in the league, over the next several years their standing on the fiscal side is destined to skyrocket, which means finding ways to surround this core trio with talented yet cost-efficient ballers is key to maintaining their status as a true title threat for the foreseeable future.
By offloading a bevy of future first-round picks for someone of Flagg's potential, not only would they be accomplishing this goal in one move, but they could realistically cement their status as the game's next great dynasty.
Dating back to his days at the high school level, Cooper Flagg has been viewed as a generational talent who, once eligible to enter the draft, will be favored to be taken with the top selection.
Throughout his freshman season with the Duke Blue Devils, he's only further strengthened this sentiment.
A strong favorite to win the title of National Player of the Year, the 6-foot-9, 205-pound forward is dropping sensational per-game averages of 19.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks while shooting 48.3 percent from the floor and 37.0 percent from deep.
Adding this strong production and high-end versatility via a rookie scale contract to this championship-aspiring core of SGA, J-Dub, and Holmgren would create the foundation of a true dynasty while helping the Thunder stave off the dreaded luxury tax along the way.
Though convincing whatever team that ultimately lands the top-pick and, in turn, has the opportunity to select Cooper Flagg themself to make this type of move may not be as easy as Simmons is suggesting, for the Thunder this proposal is as close to a no-brainer as they get, especially when considering they'd still have plenty more future draft picks at their disposal even after the exchange.