Though the NBA Draft is still roughly two weeks away, the OKC Thunder already seem to have their approach to the night fleshed out.
Hint: It's the same as it's been for years.
During his end-of-season press conference, Thunder GM Sam Presti revealed to reporters that, as always, the front office is hell-bent on looking for ways in which they can finagle some sort of draft-based trade, though they don't necessarily seem to have much preference when it comes to the direction in which they ultimately go.
"We try to move up every year. We try to get a price for what it would take for us to move out entirely, and then we also have contingencies to move back in the draft," Presti said.
For months now, it's been widely believed that the Thunder would strongly consider making some sort of move with their influx of draft capital this year, not only because they regularly look into it, but because of the fact that they simply don't have the roster room necessary to utilize all of their current draft selections.
As things currently stand, OKC already has 15 players locked into contracts next season and is heading into the draft festivities with the 12, 17, and 37 picks in its possession.
They already have 15 players under contract for 2026-27, so clearly they'll need to make some sort of move to actually benefit from these assets.
Thunder destined to make trades regardless of how draft shakes out
Whether they find a way to move up, down, or out of the 2026 NBA Draft, it seems quite obvious that this Thunder team is destined to make some trades this offseason.
Even without adding any new players via the draft or free agency, Oklahoma City has to part ways with a few of its players for fiscal reasons.
Right now, OKC is on track to sport the highest payroll in the entire association next season at $250.57 million, roughly $28 million north of the dreaded second apron.
While turning down a few specific player options would help kill two birds with one stone, as over $46 million could be saved by declining Lu Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein's deals alone, even if they were willing to part with either of these talents, there's no way the Thunder should be willing to do it without netting something in return for their services.
That goes for the likes Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins as well.
Needless to say, the Thunder have a good problem on their hands with their embarrassment of riches. Now, they just need to find a way to make room for it all.
It seems exploring the trade market may be their best option.
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