We are officially less than a week away from the 2025 NBA trade deadline and there are still no clear indications of what the OKC Thunder plan on doing.
Though many may believe Oklahoma City will follow its traditional philosophy of avoiding splashy, in-season moves, the top seeds surprisingly have several on-court weaknesses they may want to address before embarking on a playoff run.
From bench scoring to lackluster perimeter shooting, the Thunder could use a touch-up in plenty of areas. Sifting through the crop of talent available on the trade market could help them find some much-needed help.
In the event that Sam Presti and company do look to make a deal ahead of the February 6 cut-off, there are several assets that could be up for grabs in an outbound package.
Recently, Dan Favale of Bleacher Report named three Thunder players, in particular, he considers to be the "most likely" talents to be dealt. Today, we rank each of them based on the likelihood of their departure in a hypothetical trade ahead of the deadline.
3. Dillon Jones
Coming into the 2024 NBA Draft, Dillon Jones drew in a ton of intrigue thanks to his size mixed with on-court versatility.
Throughout his four-year stint at Weber State, the 6-foot-6 combo forward proved himself to be a triple-threat player, as he frequently stuffed the stat sheet with career averages of 15.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.7 steals on 49.9 percent shooting from the floor.
During his senior season, he would put forth easily his best season by dropping 20.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.0 steals while frequently serving as the Wildcats' primary handler and offensive initiator.
As a result, Jones established himself as a first-round talent, showing shades of a shrunken down Julius Randle.
Unfortunately, he has not yet found a way to put his skills together at the NBA level, averaging just 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in 28 appearances with the Thunder.
That said, one could make the argument that opportunity, not talent, is what's been holding his development back, as he's been showing flashes of his collegiate self with more run down in the G League by serving as a primary weapon within their system (14.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.2 steals in 11 appearances).
Still, his power forward style of play in a shooting guard's body is far from an enviable combination. Though the 23-year-old may draw some interest from prospective buyers at this year's deadline, his value trumps in comparison to the other two players ahead of him.
2. Aaron Wiggins
The concept of Aaron Wiggins being shipped out in a trade any time soon is a rather saddening idea to consider.
After signing a steal of a multi-year extension this past offseason, the wing has found himself amid yet another quality campaign, one where he's served as a rotational staple and a highly dependable two-way weapon within Mark Daigneault's scheme.
Unfortunately, however, in the event that the Thunder strike on a notable name with a sizable salary (take Cameron Johnson and his $22.5 million pay grade, for example), Wiggins and his $10.5 million owed this year may be necessary in an outbound package to help make the finances work.
However, even outside of this fiscally-driven assessment, a player of his ilk is considered highly valuable for virtually any team as his age (26) fits the timeline of many rebuilding and re-tooling teams while his 3&D skill set (career 38.3 percent long-range shooter with a 113 defensive rating) is almost always coveted by title contenders across the league.
Depending on the type of trade Oklahoma City desires, Aaron Wiggins' involvement may wind up being the difference-maker.
1. Ousmane Dieng
Aaron Wiggins is currently the best player mentioned of the three and Dillon Jones may be the greenest, but Ousmane Dieng unequivocally possesses the most potential out of all three.
Selected 11 overall back in 2022, the French-born baller generated a ton of attention heading into the NBA Draft thanks to his size, ball-handling skills, and flashes of elite defense, with some considering him to be "one of the highest-upside prospects" in his respective class.
Unfortunately, three years into his career the power forward has yet to put his promise together on a consistent basis, as he regularly struggled to showcase any of the attributes (outside of, say, ball handling for someone of his stature) that made him a lottery pick to begin with.
That said, Dieng has turned heads when given extended run down with the Thunder's development team, the OKC Blue, with whom he led the charge to a 2024 G League Championship, was named Finals MVP, and is currently putting forth yet another sensational, all-around season with averages of 20.4 points, 5.9 assists, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks on 37.5 percent shooting from distance.
Because of this, there is the inherent argument that being on OKC's win-now and overall stacked roster may be infringing upon the forward's development, as they simply can't afford to roll him out for highly valuable minutes in the big leagues while seriously gunning for a Larry O'Brien Trophy.
Perhaps a change of scenery could do the 21-year-old some serious good, especially if shipped out to a team looking to embark on a youth movement like, say, the Brooklyn Nets.