The Oklahoma City Thunder, on the whole, are in a position to make a number of moves this offseason.
It's not necessarily a dire position to be in. Although they're facing the second apron with the extensions for Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams kicking in, they've stated their willingness to face those restrictions if it means keeping their roster mostly intact. But they do have three selections in the upcoming 2026 NBA Draft, including the 12th and 17th overall picks.
They have team options on Isaiah Hartenstein, Luguentz Dort, and Kenrich Williams, and they have two young players in Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber who have seen very limited NBA action. Sorber, for his part, missed the entirety of his rookie campaign with a torn ACL.
They simply cannot afford to keep their entire intact and also make all three selections in the Draft. It's a mathematic impossibility.
Oklahoma City could package those picks to move up inside the top-10. But if there turn out to be no true suitors for such a move, the Thunder could quickly be forced to pivot off of one of those selections in exchange for future draft capital.
If that turns out to be the case, the Portland Trail Blazers could turn out to be the perfect partner.
The Portland Trail Blazers may be on the hunt for a first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft
The Thunder have done an excellent job at amassing draft capital and capitalizing upon those resources. If they were to keep both the 12th and 17th overall picks, this draft is deep enough that they could yield a pair of exciting young talents with relative ease.
But that fact could also make one of those two selections highly appealing to a team that doesn't have a first-round pick in this year's Draft— Portland.
The Trail Blazers dealt their first-round pick to the Chicago Bulls during last year's Draft to move up and select Yang Hansen. That pick has yet to pay dividends for them, but that's largely beside the point. Portland made the playoffs this season for the first time since 2020-21. Although they were bounced by the San Antonio Spurs in five games, it's clear they're on the cusp of competitiveness.
They have a strong young core in Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson, Toumani Camara, and Donovan Clingan. The 2026 NBA Draft represents a major opportunity for them to add to that core with a young forward like Nate Ament or Morez Johnson Jr. in the late lottery.
Portland is in possession of seven first-round picks between now and 2032. Granted, their willingness to part with any of them could depend on where they feel they're at in the sweepstakes for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Although they have little chance of being a real destination for the superstar, they are in possession of the Milwaukee Bucks' swap rights in 2028 and 2030 from the original Damian Lillard trade. That could make them an important facilitator in the Antetokounmpo trade, which is expected to happen prior to the Draft.
But if the Trail Blazers are looking to compete now, they would likely be more than willing to send a pick in 2029 or 2031 to Oklahoma City. There's a real chance they would also be in on Aaron Wiggins or Isaiah Joe, allowing the two parties to perhaps cobble together a larger deal that would solve multiple problems for the Thunder.
Although Oklahoma City has a number of paths they can take in this year's Draft, therefore, Portland should be a team to watch if their hand is ultimately forced into moving off of one of their first-round picks.
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