Last season, the OKC Thunder pulled off an absolute heist of a trade when they bought low on Jared McCain ahead of the February deadline, sending a low-value first and three future second-round picks to the 76ers for his services.
30 regular-season games, three playoff rounds, and a full offseason later, there's no doubt Oklahoma City came away the clear winner from the exchange.
Now, with one roster spot still open and buzz swirling about another 2024 first-round talent rumored to be on the outs with his current squad, perhaps this success with the McCain trade could entice Sam Presti to try his luck once again on another potential buy-low opportunity.
Thunder might want to inquire about Dalton Knecht trade price
According to recent reports, Dalton Knecht is viewed as the "odd man out" in Los Angeles as the Lakers try to cut their roster down to the league's maximum 15 players.
The Tennessee product has struggled to find consistency throughout his two years of action in the association, going from roughly 20 minutes per game and averaging 9.1 points and 2.8 boards on 37.6 percent shooting in year one to a major drop to 10.2 minutes per night with an accompanying 4.2 points and 1.4 boards on 34.2 percent shooting from deep in year two.
Throughout this span, Knecht has been linked to a number of trade reports involving the Lakers, most notably the failed transaction for center Mark Williams back in 2025.
Now, after a rut of a sophomore season, the former first-round pick's stock has taken a major nosedive. So much so that the Lakers are believed to be strongly considering offloading him ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.
Needless to say, given his draft status and his archtype as a young, 3&D wing, this latest report should certainly result in a number of teams inquiring about what it would take to snatch Knecht away from the Lakers.
Though they may already have a slew of top-flight talent already, the Thunder might want to consider being one of these teams.
Thunder can afford to take a buy-low swing on Dalton Knecht
There are two primary reasons why the Thunder could consider taking a buy-low gamble on Dalton Knecht.
First, they have an obscene amount of future draft capital that, frankly, they won't even be able to use on themselves anyway.
Already, we've seen the Thunder take part in trades that are simply can-kicking exchanges, essentially swapping more current capital for capital farther down the road.
With this in mind, they could easily package a few picks from their treasure trove in pursuit of a perceived high-upside young talent like Knecht without breaking a sweat.
Second, Knecht is still attached to his rookie contract through the 2027-28 season.
With their payroll skyrocketing, what with the recent activation of all three of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren's max deals, coupled with the upcoming contracts set to come in Cason Wallace and Ajay Mitchell's direction, fleshing out the club's supporting cast with cost-efficient talents is not only beginning to look like a desire from the front office, but a must.
Because of this, parting ways with a few picks for someone who was tabbed as a "Do-it-all scorer from all areas" coming out of the draft just two years ago and is valued at just a $4.6 million AAV could be well worth the swing for the Thunder.
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