Just two summers ago, the OKC Thunder and Chicago Bulls executed a prime example of a "win-win" trade by swapping Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso.
Now, mid-way through the 2025-26 campaign, The Athletic's Sam Vecenie is suggesting that both ball clubs should once again be interested in jumping back into negotiations.
During a recent edition of the Game Theory Podcast, Vecenie proposed the idea of Oklahoma City dialing up Chicago and offering a package of one first-round pick along with someone like Isaiah Joe for fifth-year two-guard Ayo Dosunmu.
"The Bulls love these player-for-player swaps [and] Joe's on a totally reasonable deal moving forward. The reason you do that, if you're Oklahoma City, is that you get an extra pseudo ball-handler, which could be helpful for them. You have the Isaiah Joe number off of the books moving forward, and then you have a player that's a little bit of a better fit for the team this year that can help you a little bit more," Vecenie said.
Thunder urged to pursue 'better fit' Ayo Dosunmu at trade deadline
Teams show who they truly are when hit with adversity, and, during their middling 13-9 stretch since mid-December, the Thunder have proven that, despite what the odds-makers may think, they have some glaring weaknesses in their on-court play that could use some fine-tuning.
To Vecenie, one of these areas of concern lies in the backcourt behind the likes of star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as he suggests there's a lack of secondary and tertiary handler options available within coach Mark Daigneault's talent pool.
Dosunmu may be more of a two, but he's shown flashes of being a quality playmaker throughout his tenure with the Bulls, even boasting an assist percentage of roughly 20.0 over the past two seasons.
Here in 2025-26, the Illinois product finds himself posting career-best efforts virtually all across the board, as he's averaging 14.5 points, 3.4 assists, and 2.7 rebounds while shooting a highly efficient 51.2 percent from the floor and 45.3 percent from distance.
On top of this, though he may only measure in at 6-foot-4, thanks to his 6-foot-8 wingspan, Dosunmu is a player who can not only effectively drive the lane for scoring opportunities, but is more than capable of guarding up beyond his pound-for-pound position assignment.
Of course, this proposed deal goes beyond mere in-game fit, as Vecenie highlighted how the cash-strapped Thunder would benefit in the salary department long-term by swapping the two-and-a-half years remaining on Joe's four-year, $48 million contract for Dosunmu's expiring $21 million pact.
While the long-time draft guru doubts Sam Presti and company will wind up doing much of anything ahead of the February 5 trade deadline, in his eyes, the idea of calling up their old friends out in Chicago about the cost of Dosunmu is worth exploring, both from a strategic and salary standpoint.