After their heartbreaking Game 7 loss on Saturday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been shown that their roster isn't invincible.
With their yearly abundance of picks, along with tradeable contracts, OKC can make endless moves to try to perfect the team.
One move that can drastically change next season's outlook is trading for veteran P.J. Washington.
Washington's size would be a monumental addition for the Thunder
Washington, whose career-defining series came against OKC during their ill-fated 2024 postseason run, would address multiple needs in the frontcourt.
Outside of the big men, Jalen Williams, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder lack any true size. All of their wings and guards are average or below average in size, and this has often left the Thunder at a rebounding disadvantage.
Washington, however, at 6-foot-7 and an excellent rebounder for his position, could change it all.
This season, Washington is just one of five players 6-foot-7 or under to average seven or more rebounds per game. His physicality, combined with his monstrous 7-foot-2.5 wingspan, allows him to grab rebounds at will.
While just one big man was on the floor in the Western Conference Finals, the Thunder struggled mightily to get a board. The San Antonio Spurs were consistently able to get second-chance points while one of Chet Holmgren or Isaiah Hartenstein was on the bench.
The addition of Washington allows OKC to consistently have one big man on the court. The newfound ability to stagger Holmgren and Hartenstein's minutes more gives the Thunder countless more lineup opportunities.
How do the Thunder make a move for P.J. Washington?
The acquisition of P.J. Washington wouldn't be extremely difficult.
One option is to make an exchange involving Luguentz Dort, but given recent speculation around the veteran, this move is presumably rather unlikely.
The other, more likely option is some combination of Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe.
Both have very movable contracts, and considering their lack of playoff minutes this postseason, they wouldn't be sacrificing much.
Wiggins and Washington found themselves struggling behind the arc this season.
For Wiggins, it was a key reason he saw a drastic reduction in minutes through the course of the season.
In Washington's case, the Dallas Mavericks were practically eliminated from the playoffs all season, which led to substantial minutes for many unproven younger talents. This left him playing little serious basketball this season, and potentially an inaccurate overall look at his true offensive talent.
In the 2024-25 season, Washington was an exceptional three-point shooter, hitting over 38.0 percent of his threes. With shooting production closer to his 2025 self, there will be no hesitation to give Washington considerable postseason minutes.
Replacing Joe and/or Wiggins with P.J. Washington will significantly change the outlook for the OKC Thunder next season and give them a much greater chance against the Spurs.
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