The OKC Thunder may not have been part of Sunday's trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets, but their approach to the 2025 NBA Draft could be directly impacted because of it.
Before the blockbuster officially went down, there had been rumblings that Oklahoma City had inquired about making a deal with Houston to acquire their 10 overall selection during Wednesday's festivities.
Though the Rockets may no longer hold these rights as a result of the deal, ESPN's Jonathan Givony revealed that the Thunder are still interested in trading for the pick. Because of this, the Phoenix Suns should now be viewed as the club's most logical draft-night trade partner.
Suns now the most logical trade partner for Thunder during NBA Draft
On top of the fact that OKC is reportedly interested in making its way into the top 10 on the board, NBA insider Jake Fischer recently explained that the Suns facilitating such a move could be beneficial for them as well, especially if they feel a player they already covet at their current position could realistically still be available later on in the draft.
The logic behind why such an exchange could be mutually beneficial is rather straightforward -- The Thunder have too many picks and not enough expendable players to make room on the roster, while Phoenix is headlined by a win-now franchise cornerstone in Devin Booker though clearly has a bevy of flaws within their rotation that are in need of addressing.
By consolidating the 15, 24, and 44 overall picks on the night and trading them for the 10 overall pick, it would make Sam Presti's job of creating space for a newcomer much easier and give the Suns more opportunities to add on much-needed complementary talents around their All-Star guard.
After winning the 2025 NBA Championship, the Thunder should be focusing on accomplishing two main tasks: Re-signing their core trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren to multi-year extensions and maintaining a title-worthy supporting cast around them.
Executing this first objective is only bound to significantly raise the team's payroll, so strategically fleshing out the rest of the roster with impactful and cost-efficient contributors is a must, especially with the increased fear of entering into the league's dreaded tax aprons over the coming years.
Being they don't appear to have any glaring on-court weaknesses or obvious rotational needs at the moment, taking a swing for the fences in this year's NBA Draft on a high-upside prospect could very well be the best course of action for the league's newest champs.
This means intriguing yet raw youngsters believed to possess All-Star upside, like Cedevita Olimpija big man Joan Beringer and Ratiopharm Ulm forward Noa Essengue, should absolutely be on Oklahoma City's radar, especially with the possibility of a dynasty being a realistic possibility.
Of course, to improve their odds of securing a player with said potential, moving a few spots up from their current position may be essential, which is why a trade with the Suns should be heavily pursued by the Thunder leading up to and during the 2025 NBA Draft.