NBA trade deadline day is officially upon us and, still, there's no clear indication of what the OKC Thunder plan on doing.
Sure, their recent moves may offer up suggestions as to how they'll let things play out, but with the numerous other deals made by direct conference rivals and title threats, there's a case to be made that Oklahoma City, as talented and as in command as they are with their top-seeded record out West, may want to spice things up themselves.
In the event that they do make a splashy deal, it's all but certain that some sort of draft compensation will be heading outbound. Considering they own a ridiculous number of picks over the better part of the next decade, this is a given.
However, to attain anyone who has been linked to the franchise over the past several months, coughing up active players will also be necessary to simply make finances work while simultaneously beefing up the offer.
Because of this, heading into today's 3 p.m. (ET) deadline, there are a few individuals who may see Wednesday night's win over the Phoenix Suns as their final game played as a member of the Thunder.
Isaiah Joe
If the Thunder are going to land any player of note this trade season, it will likely require one of their larger contracts being shipped out in the exchange just to make the money work.
Outside of their untouchable commodities in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe is the highest-priced player OKC has on their roster at $12.9 million. If they were to bring on a bigger contract before the deadline, one would imagine the wing may be used as a sacrificial lamb for financial purposes.
Of course, Joe is far from just a salary-matching commodity.
Throughout his five-year NBA career, he's established himself as a highly reliable and efficient 3&D talent. Now in his third year with the Thunder, he is averaging 9.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists while shooting 39.9 percent from distance.
Still only 25 years old, someone of Isaiah Joe's age with his type of skill set is valuable to just about any team in the league, meaning he'd have a ton of suitors if OKC were willing to part ways with him ahead of the deadline.
Ousmane Dieng
Easily the most intriguing prospect on this Thunder team, Ousmane Dieng is a name that virtually any team dealing with OKC on the trade market would likely covet in a return package.
Just three years removed from going 11 overall in the 2022 NBA Draft, the French-born baller possesses a ton of upside due to his innate athleticism, impressive ball-handling skills, and defensive versatility all being packaged together in a 6-foot-10 frame.
While he has yet to prove himself capable of putting his skills together on a consistent basis, throughout his tenure in Oklahoma City he's often shown flashes of the serious upside that made him a lottery-selected talent in the first place.
From his two-way production at the developmental level which helped the OKC Blue win the 2024 G League Championship (where he won MVP, mind you) to, most recently, his standout efforts against the Milwaukee Bucks with the varsity team where he dropped a whopping 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists, Dieng has shown signs of having serious potential throughout his career.
Add all this to the fact that he's still only 21 years old, and it goes without saying that any team looking to rebuild at this year's deadline (Brooklyn Nets, Portland Trail Blazers, etc.) would be open to the idea of adding on someone of Ousmane Dieng's caliber.
Dillon Jones
Like Dieng, Dillon Jones is a youngster with high-end versatility who's simply not getting enough playing time with the Thunder to unlock his full potential at the professional level.
Selected 26 overall in this past June's NBA Draft, the 23-year-old made a name for himself as a highly versatile, Swiss Army Knife-type of forward throughout his four-year stint at Weber State. During his final year with the Wildcats, he stuffed the stat sheet with averages of 20.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game.
His 9.2 minutes per game averages are far from enough to help him provide these types of contributions at the professional level on a nightly basis.
Excitingly enough, when given ample run, like during his recent outing against the Bucks when he logged 25 minutes of action, Jones has managed to have his multi-faceted skills shine through (he pulled down 9 rebounds and dished out 4 assists).
As was the case for Dieng, a change of scenery could wind up being seriously beneficial for Jones, while his inclusion in a deal could help give an outbound Thunder package just the right amount of extra sweetening.