Though trade season may have started with a ton of buzz and excitement surrounding the OKC Thunder, in recent weeks rumblings have regularly surfaced that seem to encourage fans to pull back on expectations.
From recycled rhetoric of hesitancy over in-season dealings popping up to reports of nonexistent negotiations for previously presumed top targets, as time passes and we inch closer to the February 6 cut-off it appears highly plausible that this front office will shy away from pursuing any noteworthy names this year.
However, this is not to say that Sam Presti and company will be completely inactive before the deadline comes to pass.
While the more popular ideas involve Oklahoma City acquiring established commodities such as Nets sniper Cameron Johnson or Jazz tweener big John Collins, it was proposed in a recent piece by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes that they should strongly consider following in the footsteps of the Utah Jazz and exchange near-future draft capital for more desirable picks down the road.
OKC Thunder urged to pursue more valuable draft picks before deadline
As things currently stand, the Thunder have one of the most enviable collections of draft assets the league has ever seen. They own anywhere from nine to 15 first-round picks and nearly double that amount in second-rounders over the next seven years.
Because of this overflow of capital, fans and pundits have been quick to discuss the possibility of the franchise offering up a handful of these selections in exchange for a ready-made talent who could, in theory, aid in their win-now aspirations.
Hughes, however, seems to be under the impression that Oklahoma City is already good enough to vie for an NBA Championship, though suggests they could still benefit from offloading some of these assets on the trade market for even higher value picks in a few years.
"Do the Thunder need some center insurance? Maybe another primary playmaker to ease the ball-handling load on second units? A high-volume three-point shooter? Of course those would be nice, but it's very difficult for a team as good as Oklahoma City to get much better. So, why not think about bundling up multiple future firsts and offering them to a desperate team for a shot at one that might be immensely valuable," Hughes wrote.
Already this season the NBA has seen a couple of teams partake in such future-oriented dealings, with Hughes highlighting the exchange made earlier this month where the Jazz shipped three future first-round picks to the Suns for an unprotected 2031 first-rounder.
The idea here is that Phoenix, more of a win-now team with limited tradable equity due to their dealings over the last few years, add on multiple assets that can be used for a splashy move in the immediate future while Utah, who is currently amid a rebuild, parts with assets attached to varying protections and stipulations for what is hoped to be a high-end, unprotected pick six years from now.
Though the Thunder may share a mentality more similar to that of the Suns, their draft collection is more aligned with a team amid a tankathon stretch like the Jazz.
In other words, though they may be looking to win a title as soon as 2024-25 thanks to their star power in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, due to their war chest of draft picks they also seem to have the makings of a franchise that is set for a promising and prosperous youth movement should they so choose to embark down this road.
Clearly, they are not looking to rebuild which, in turn, makes their forthcoming draft picks highly expendable in the right exchange. To the seasoned B/R writer, this could lead OKC's front office toward packaging several of their mid-level picks in an outbound deal to a desperate team either looking to rebuild or stockpile their draft arsenal.
In exchange, the Thunder could try to then bring back future capital themselves that involves fewer protections and, thus, have a better chance of turning into a higher pick down the line.
So while using these draft fortunes in a deal for a current player who can help contribute right away may be the most popular trade idea revolving around the rumor mill, Hughes is preaching the idea of simply swapping out quantity of picks for quality.