Even after their recent Nique Clifford acquisition, the OKC Thunder may not be done making moves just yet, as ESPN's Tim MacMahon recently stressed that he believes Sam Presti and company will continue to "explore the market" as they attempt to upgrade their injury-ravaged supporting cast surrounding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
To Yossi Gozlan of the Third Apron podcast, the LA Clippers could be an ideal partner in these endeavors, for not only do they have the kind of talents Oklahoma City generally covets, but Los Angeles could also net the kind of assets that, at this point, are truly invaluable to them.
The seasoned salary cap analyst floated the idea of the Thunder pursuing the likes of Derrick Jones Jr., along with either one of Kris Dunn or Brook Lopez, in a mid-season exchange while dangling one of their three potential firsts in this coming summer's NBA Draft in a possible return.
Though LA may wish to nab the rights to their own first rounder coughed up in their ill-fated James Harden trade back in 2023, Gozlan, instead, believes the top-17 protected pick from San Antonio could ultimately prove to be enticing enough for them to pull the trigger.
Considering they just lost five first-round draft picks this past summer as a result of the Kawhi Leonard investigation, it's safe to say that, even though it may not be the one they want, the Clippers would be more than satisfied with landing the rights to the top-seeded Spurs' pick instead.
Thunder could easily absorb proposed players into Lu Dort TPE
Thanks to Lu Dort, even if the Thunder were to take on the contracts of Derrick Jones Jr. and Kris Dunn, they wouldn't have to offload salary despite being pressed up against the second apron.
After this past offseason's trade that shipped the beloved defensive stalwart to the Atlanta Hawks, the Thunder created a $17.7 million Traded Player Exception, which allows them to seamlessly absorb salary onto their books up to this price point without having it trigger the second-apron hard cap.
Gozlan's proposed deal involving Jones and Dunn would still leave wiggle room in the Dort TPE, as their conjoined paydays don't even exceed $16 million.
With this in mind, attaining both seems to be a breeze from a logistics trade standpoint, while their defense-first skill sets would mesh nicely with Oklahoma City's on-court philosophy.
All things considered, given Tim MacMahon is stressing that no fan should be expecting to see "a big splash" of a trade by this Thunder squad, a move such as the one Gozlan's proposing could prove to be incredibly ideal for the Thunder.
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