To ESPN's Zach Kram, the OKC Thunder have taken part in some of the most disastrous draft-day decisions since 2020. Their trade that sent 16 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Alperen Sengun, to the Rockets in exchange for two future picks, one of which was used on Ousmane Dieng a year later, is believed to be the club's worst one of all.
Clearly, four years removed, it's more than evident that Sam Presti and company got the short end of the stick when it comes to the better talent received, as Houston landed a 6-foot-11 All-Star center while Oklahoma City rosters a 6-foot-9 end-of-bench filler.
However, ironically enough, their acquisition of the objectively obvious draft bust may have ultimately been the preffered turn of events in the long run, especially when considering how this offseason has played out.
Thunder keeping Alperen Sengun may have altered summer activities
After taking home their first Larry O'Brien Trophy of the Sooner State era this past June, the Thunder have gone on a masterful spending spree this summer that is slated to keep their championship-winning core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren in tow for the long haul.
What's most exciting about their offseason activity is that even with the fact that they've committed $877.21 million in new, standard deals, with $822 million being linked to their Big Three alone, fears of them entering into the dreaded second apron are virtually moot thanks to their abundance of somewhat expendable role players matched with an influx of future draft capital.
With how things currently stand, outside of perhaps Luguentz Dort, every player not named Shai, Jalen, or Chet should be seen as highly replaceable commodities within the rotation. Someone like Dieng, who has seen his minutes-per-game averages fall with each passing year and is bound to be off the roster by the time 2026-27 rolls around, best illustrates this particular mold of player.
Now imagine how different OKC's offseason would have been had they decided to keep Sengun.
Sure, on the one hand, having him in tow alongside the aforementioned three studs could have certainly been fun to watch over the past several years, and may have even brought the team a championship sooner than 2025.
With that said, the more high-end players there are on one team, the harder the front office's decisions become, especially in this new era of crippling tax penalties.
In this alternate universe, where all four of SGA, J-Dub, Holmgren, and Sengun were rostered by the Thunder, there's no feasible way Presti could have been generous enough to give them each the paydays they both received and deserved. Let's not forget that Sengun is coming into next season earning the first $33.9 million of his $185 million rookie extension.
This overflow of luxuries could have easily led to a similar turn of events to the one they saw in the summer of 2012, where they were forced to part ways with a beloved and highly talented young stud (James Harden) solely for financial reasons.
By offloading Sengun and, essentially, swapping him out for the now-expiring Dieng in the following draft, instead of being faced with this agonizing predicament once again, they were able to lock down their star trio rather effortlessly this offseason.
As a result, Oklahoma City now has many believing they can develop into the league's next great dynasty, a reality that, as Kram put it, helps "outweigh" misses like the Sengun trade.