The OKC Thunder are down bad in the injury department, as they currently have four key rotation players, including three starters, ruled out for at least the next several months.
What's most concerning about this lackluster health situation is the fact that all the absentees were their four best defenders just last season.
With this in mind, should the Thunder be interested in making some sort of in-season move in response to these injuries, they may want to strongly consider pursuing talents with a nose for the less glamorous side of the ball.
Not only that, but considering their lofty payroll, OKC should also be looking for players on the trade market attached to low-cost contracts.
Phoenix's Jordan Goodwin certainly checks both of these boxes, and while the Suns may view him as an integral part of their current rotation, the Thunder could theoretically offer someone in a hypothetical exchange who would directly help address their most glaring need for a legitimate floor general.
Thunder must consider dangling Nikola Topic in Jordan Goodwin trade
Trading a third-year former lottery selection for a career 3&D role player may not sound like the most exciting idea on the surface, but the Thunder have experience in pulling off exactly this kind of move, what with the Josh Giddey-for-Alex Caruso swap back in the summer of 2024.
Two full years removed from the exchange, it's safe to say such a decision worked wonders for OKC.
Now, Sam Presti and company should consider doing something similar in an attempt to address their depleted perimeter defensive punch, and a trade involving Nikola Topic being shipped out for Jordan Goodwin should be on the table.
By declining Topic's fourth year of his rookie-scale deal, the Thunder have made it clear that his tenure in the Sooner State is bound to come to an end at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season anyway.
Why not swap his expiring contract out for a player who could contribute in ways Oklahoma City desperately needs?
Reports say there is "growing frustration within that locker room" that the Suns don't have a true point guard on the roster to help "organize that offense.” Frankly, this has been missing in Phoenix for years now.
Topic is someone who came into the association pegged as a pure floor general, and his limited play with the Thunder up to this point has only strengthened this pre-draft belief.
Meanwhile, for the Thunder, Goodwin is a player who can provide nitty-gritty effort on the defensive side of the ball thanks to his length (boasts a 6-foot-10 wingspan) and lateral quickness, and can effectively stroke it from beyond the arc.
Since arriving in Phoenix last season, the 28-year-old has found himself averaging impressive per-game averages of 7.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.2 steals while shooting 35.6 percent from deep and registering a defensive plus-minus of plus-1.1.
The beauty of such an exchange is that both of their paydays for this season are nearly identical, with Topic's salary ringing in at $5.4 million while Goodwin's is $5.9 million, so a swap would be virtually seamless.
Though this kind of hypothetical move wouldn't be able to be made until January 15, as Goodwin re-upped with the Suns on a new four-year deal this past offseason, once the moratorium is lifted, the Thunder and Suns should strongly consider pursuing a mutually beneficial swap like this.
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