Thunder News: LeBron trade, dream targets, Giddey fire, deadline week

Josh Giddey found his fire

The Thunder's latest win came in a double-overtime thriller vs the Toronto Raptors. The dueling Canadiens went toe-to-toe for much of the game, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and RJ Barrett scoring 23 points each for their respective squads. The true player of the game, however, was the Australian Josh Giddey, who scored 24 points, collected six rebounds and six assists, and swatted a pair of shots to boot. He was a game-best +17 in the win, and

It was far from an easy win, and our Rob Andrew wrote on how Giddey finding his fire keyed the win. The Thunder were down by as many as 23 points before they came screaming back, and the Wizard of SLOB himself threw the game-tying pass to Aaron Wiggins for the layup that sent it to overtime and set the stage for the 2OT win.

LeBron James on the Thunder?

LeBron James is the "King" of modern basketball, but he is also the king of passive aggressive communication. From vague emoticons on X to Towel Gate at Madison Square Garden this weekend, James is communicating to the Los Angeles Lakers' front office that he expects them to upgrade the roster at the Trade Deadline.

The other lever that could be pulled is the Lakers moving LeBron to another team, and that rumor caught fire late last week. When looking around the league, however, not many teams would make sense for a LeBron trade.

The exception? The Oklahoma City Thunder, who can match his salary, include picks to make it worth the Lakers' while, and expect to contend instantly with what would remain. In fact, the Thunder would likely be installed as title favorites after such a deal. I dug into the idea in more depth over the weekend.