The NBA Trade Deadline is tomorrow, which means the pressure is on for the Oklahoma City Thunder to find their man on the trade market. Whether they go after size, shooting, depth or shoot for the stars, there is a plethora of options available to the team with all of the assets; it just depends on what they decide to do with them.
Let's go through 12 players linked to the Thunder in trade rumors and ask the question: does this player make sense for the Thunder to target? We'll take into account their fit on the team, their contract, the cost to acquire them and the opportunity cost of adding one player over another. Which trade target is a no-brainer? Which would be palpably awful to add?
For the purposes of this exercise, we took out those players who are reportedly off the table entirely. Mikal Bridges, Lauri Markkanen and Jarrett Allen would all be fascinating targets for various reasons, but we won't consider them here.
No. 12: Dorian Finney-Smith is a no-brainer
There is an argument to be made for adding a star to the Thunder's mix, or for adding a big. There is no argument necessary for adding a player like Dorian Finney-Smith, because he is such a no-brainer for what the Thunder need heading into their first playoff run together.
Finney-Smith is 6'7" with a nearly 7-foot wingspan and is one of the league's better defensive players, able to guard up on wings and even play small-ball center. He's not a pure sniper from beyond the arc but he's hitting 38.3 percent of his 3-pointers this season. He would fit perfectly with any combination of other players on the Thunder, increasing their defensive versatility without hindering them on offense.
With Finney-Smith under contract for multiple seasons, this is a no-brainer trade to make. The Thunder have the surplus picks to spend to bring him in and he would be an excellent addition to their frontcourt rotation ahead of the postseason.