3 Trades Thunder wish they made instead of acquiring Gordon Hayward

Deni Avdija

Ironically, when coming into the association back in 2020 there were some who viewed Deni Avdija as a Gordon Hayward-esque prospect considering his scoring repertoire and passing abilities.

Though it's hard to say whether he'll reach heights greater than what the 34-year-old has reached in his career, there's a strong argument to be made the 23-year-old would have clearly been the more ideal contributor within this team's rotation.

Wrapping up his fourth season in the association, Avidja went on to post career highs virtually all across the board in 2023-24, as he finished off with stellar averages of 14.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists while shooting 50.6 percent from the field and 37.4 percent from deep.

On top of his game, considering he measures in at an enviable 6-foot-9, 210 pounds, the former lottery pick could have proven to be an ideal starting power forward option for the ball club, which would then have slid Jalen Williams up to his more natural three position to, in theory, better round-out the Thunder's lineup.

Alas, despite the rumors of him being available, Avidja finished out his campaign with the Wizards ranked sixth in the voting for Most Improved Player while OKC paid out the second half of Hayward's $33.3 million salary just to have him lose his spot within the team's rotation altogether towards the end.