The OKC Thunder struck a buy-low trade for sophomore wing Nique Clifford Sunday, swiping him from the Sacramento Kings for a pair of second-round picks.
What may not be widely understood about the exchange, however, is the fact that Aaron Wiggins quietly played a role in its execution.
Despite their lofty payroll, the Thunder were not required to ship out one of their own players in the trade because of the $9.02 million Traded Player Exception created in the offseason deal that sent Wiggins to the Hawks.
Because of this luxury, Oklahoma City was able to seamlessly absorb Clifford's $3.26 million salary onto their books without having it trigger the second-apron hard cap.
Though this may not have cleared the Thunder's need to part ways with a player like Dalen Terry to create a roster spot for the 24-year-old's arrival, because of Wiggins' sacrifice this past summer, Sam Presti and company were able to bolster a position in dire need of reserves following the injuries to guys like Jalen Williams (ankle) and Cason Wallace (shoulder).
The man who saved basketball has now unintentionally saved the Thunder from enduring serious financial hardships with their acquisition of Clifford.
Thunder still have a couple of TPEs and plenty of picks at their disposal
As made evident by their early-season activity, the Thunder are clearly open to making moves this season in the name of bolstering their talent pool amid widespread injuries.
Fortunately, they have a couple more TPEs to potentially help them in these hypothetical future efforts.
Aaron Wiggins was just one of three offseason deals that created trade exceptions for the Thunder. In fact, this one, which was used to acquire Nique Clifford, was the least valuable of the bunch.
Shipping Isaiah Joe out to the Detroit Pistons netted OKC an $11.3 million TPE, while the Hawks also gifted the club a whopping $17.7 million TPE in the Lu Dort trade.
The Thunder also have an obscene amount of draft capital still readily available should they choose to make additional moves between now and the February 11 deadline.
When taking into account their need for healthy bodies to fill out the rotation, coupled with their overflowing collection of draft assets, it's safe to say that Oklahoma City will continue to be linked to trade discussions for the next several months.
Needless to say, a contending team in their shoes should be pushing to remain on the prowl.
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