The OKC Thunder may currently be top-dogs out in the West standings with their record of 38-9, but two direct conference rivals recently made a move that the ball club should be monitoring closely.
Saturday, the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks took part in an astonishingly shocking blockbuster deal that saw the two franchises swap Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic.
Though it may not have directly involved Oklahoma City, the aftershock of the trade is certainly something that could impact the team in many different ways, especially with the February 6 deadline rapidly approaching.
After a full day of analyzing what is arguably the biggest in-season transaction in modern NBA history, there are a few specific ripple effects that could come about for the Thunder as a result of the Doncic for Davis switcheroo.
1. Mavericks have smaller championship window
According to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, Mavericks General Manager Nico Harrison's primary motivation to swap Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis was to strengthen their chances to "win now and in the future.”
While there may be a case for this deal addressing the former desire (though, with Doncic in tow they came within just three-wins of a title a season ago), it's hard to find the logic behind how this accomplishes the latter.
In a nutshell, Dallas coughed up a 25-year-old perennial All-Star and MVP candidate on the brink of signing a long-term, supermax extension with the organization for a player who, though still a high-profile All-Star talent himself, is six years his senior (31) and has a long-standing reputation of being injury prone.
On top of this, he's only under contract for the next three seasons (player option in 2027-28) while fellow 30+ year-old veteran Kyrie Irving is only locked in through the end of next year.
To say this move doesn't make the ball club's window to win a title significantly smaller would be an absolute farce and this Thunder team that's only just starting to enter into it's prime years should be extremely happy about this.
2. Lakers could stay competitive for longer than expected
On the flip side of the Mavericks shrinking their title window with this move, it would seem the Lakers subsequently extended theirs.
Frankly, it's just the opposite of the case made above.
Instead of Los Angeles riding out the twilight years of their core tandem of 31-year-old Anthony Davis and 40-year-old LeBron James, they simply added the 25-year-old Luka Doncic who's only entering the prime years of his career and can serve as the face of the organization moving forward.
Throughout his seven-year NBA career, he's established himself as a legitimate top-five player while dropping tremendously versatile averages of 28.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 1.2 steals on 47.0 percent shooting from the floor, and roughly 35.0 percent shooting from distance.
With his specific style of play and enviable size (6-foot-6, 230 pounds), the guard has been compared to his new teammate LeBron on numerous occasions over the years.
Now, the Lakers have him to lead them into a new, post-LBJ era which, considering how impactful he was during his tenure in Dallas, will likely have Los Angeles staying competitive longer than Thunder fans had hoped.
3. Thunder may try to add size at deadline to combat Dallas' frontcourt
Over these last two years, the Mavericks have already proven themselves to be a bit too physical and vertically superior compared to the Thunder.
From bouncing Oklahoma City out of the 2024 postseason to guys like PJ Washington using build and ferocity to their advantage during their regular season series in 2024-25, Dallas' frontcourt has clearly given OKC a hard time.
Now, with the addition of the 6-foot-10, 254-pound Anthony Davis, Jason Kidd's rotation has added yet another ferocious force to their arsenal who could inflict real damage upon Mark Daigneault's bruised and battered assortment of bigs.
Because of this, perhaps Sam Presti and company may wish to be precautionary at this year's trade deadline just in case the Thunder meet the Mavs in the playoffs again and pursue some extra big-bodied ballers who could come in and help bolster their assortment
Presumably available on the market are guys like Larry Nance Jr. and Isaiah Stewart, for example, both of whom are capable of providing much-needed strength and bulk to the center spot while simultaneously having the ability to slot in at both the four and five.
4. Thunder could land a juicy pick in 2028 if all goes wrong in Dallas
Last season, the Thunder and Mavericks took part in somewhat of an afterthought trade that saw OKC exchange a first-rounder in the 2024 NBA Draft for the unprotected right to swap picks in 2028.
Though at the time it seemed that Dallas would likely be contenders out in the Western Conference for the foreseeable future with the 25-year-old Doncic as their centerpiece, with him now sent outbound and traded for the elder Anthony Davis their years of being a legitimate playoff threat may now be limited.
As alluded to earlier in the piece, this deal brings quite a few risks back in the Mavs' direction. Not only are both Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving over the age of 30 but they also have dealt with quite a number of nagging injuries and long-standing absences throughout their respective careers.
It's by no means an outlandish thought that this move could wind up completely backfiring for Dallas and, in a few years, be it due to injuries or something else unforeseen, they could plummet to the bottom of the standings.
This turn of events would be welcomed with wide-open arms by the Thunder, for not only would it signify the fall of a once-upon-a-time conference rival but it could also lead to them potentially landing a highly valuable draft selection with their pick swap.