The OKC Thunder are breezing right on through the 2025 NBA Playoffs just as they did throughout the regular season and, as a result, are pegged as favorites to take home the Larry O'Brien Trophy this June.
With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren all still in their 20s and likely to be locked down under contract for years to come, coupled with their slew of highly complimentary role players and the team's ridiculous collection of future draft capital, should they wind up winning the NBA Finals it could very well serve as the official start of the NBA's next great dynasty.
Now, while this alone should instill fear in the hearts of opposing ball clubs, ironically, one could also make the case that, should this core fall short of a championship yet again, they could realistically make themselves even more menacing with one simple plan: trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Thunder should consider pursuing Giannis trade if they fall short of title
Throughout GM Sam Presti's storied tenure in the Sooner State, the Thunder have regularly shied away from parting with assets and striking on splashy player acquisitions.
While such an approach has certainly proven successful, as this team is the youngest in league history to claim back-to-back number one seeds and is seen as a serious contender to win it all, to this point, they have endured countless premature exits from the playoffs, seeing just one NBA Finals apperance since migrating to OKC.
Coming up empty handed once again in 2025 could theoretically serve as a wakeup call for Presti and company, suggesting that in order to finally thrust themselves over the hump and into ultimate glory, they may need to go all-in on bolstering their star power.
Giannis Antetokounmpo may just be the ideal target to accomplish such a task.
Since being eliminated by the Indiana Pacers in Tuesday night's Game 5, there has been much chatter about what might be in store for the all-world forward's future.
Over the last few years, Giannis has regularly stated that he would be open to leaving Milwaukee should he ever feel that the team is not equipped to help him win another championship. Without question, a third-straight, first-round exit for the Bucks certainly should not improve any confidence in their ability to accomplish such a goal.
Because of this, both pundits and keyboard warriors alike have been busy thinking up scenarios in which Antetokounmpo and his remaining three years under contract could be moved, and, unsurprisingly, Oklahoma City has frequently been found tabbed as a realistic destination for his services.
As Kevin O'Connor recently claimed, any Giannis trade would need to involve "a team that has a ton of assets," and, because of this, Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley believes the Thunder to be "an obvious choice" in a hypothetical blockbuster, for not only do they have an obscene amount of draft capital at their dissposal, but have a ton of promising, rookie-scale prospects on their roster.
"Drop a handful of future firsts on the table, and maybe some combination of Isaiah Hartenstein, Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace and Nikola Topić gets a handshake agreement done," Buckley wrote.
As things currently stand, the Thunder are presumably not focusing any attention on an offseason blockbuster trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Instead, with the Western Conference Semifinals slated to tip off in just days, their sights should be squarely set on chasing a 2025 NBA Championship.
However, even if their playoff run winds up a failure, though it would certainly sting for the fanbase, the ball club's possible offseason response could be absolutely earth-shattering.
Creating a new superteam headlined by the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren wouldn't be such a bad consolation prize.