Grade the Trade: Horrid proposal sends Thunder ill-fitting forward for Josh Giddey

Grading the Trade: Should the Thunder say yes?

For months now, the Thunder and Wizards have been linked to one another as being possible trade partners, with rumblings being traced as far back as the February 8 deadline. Interestingly enough, said rumblings revolved around the idea of Oklahoma City acquiring one of Washington's starting forwards to help strengthen their frontcourt.

Of course, these related to the concept of attaining the services of Deni Avdija... not Kyle Kuzma.

Now, it goes without saying that Kuzma is a quality player in this league who can buy a bucket from virtually anywhere on the hardwood, and his stat line of 22.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists while shooting 46.3 percent from the floor during this past season only strengthen such a claim.

That said, these numbers are somewhat misleading and, in many ways, empty due, in large, to the fact that he was without question the most utilized talent on the Wizards and that, even with his impressive counting stats, the team still finished with the second-worst record and fourth-worst net rating in the entire association.

Though he has proven capable of positively contributing in winning environments, as made evident by his 2020 NBA Championship run with the Los Angeles Lakers, this Thunder team seems to be one perfectly fitting piece away from legitimately thrusting themselves toward claiming their first title and, considering his lackluster floor-spacing abilities (shooting 33.7 percent from deep for his career) and underwhelming defensive chops, Kuzma doesn't appear to be the right player to address their needs.

Saving the likes of Giddey and their first-round pick for another deal down the road would almost certainly be the best route for them to take.

Grade: C-