Entering the offseason, everyone knew a move had to be coming from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
With the extensions for Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams kicking in and team options on Isaiah Hartenstein, Luguentz Dort, and Kenrich Williams, the Thunder always needed to undertake some roster re-shuffling. From even a perspective of simple math, Oklahoma City entered the offseason with 15 players on the roster and three draft picks to be made.
In short, someone had to go.
That someone (or the first of those someones) was shipped of late last night, with Aaron Wiggins being sent to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for a pair of second-round picks. Wiggins was never truly a part of the Thunder's playoff rotation this past season, and his departure doesn't come as a major surprise.
But as Oklahoma City shows a willingness to strip back the depth of their roster, the move begs a question concerning their pair of first-round picks in the rapidly-approaching 2026 NBA Draft. Will they be willing to make both selections, choosing to cycle in young talent to their existing core? Could we see more departures coming as a result?
Thunder could come away from the 2026 NBA Draft with a pair of top talents
Oklahoma City is currently slated to select at 12th and 17th overall on Tuesday. For much of the (albeit short) offseason, the predominant thought has been that Oklahoma City will look to move off at least one of their first-round picks, either packaging them to move up inside the top-10 or exchanging one for future draft capital. Both moves would be viable given the young talent the Thunder already have on the roster.
Nikola Topic has yet to see extensive playing time, and Thomas Sorber missed his entire rookie campaign with a torn ACL. If Oklahoma City wanted to simply add a second-round, two-way contributor and move forward with their current group of young players, it would be hard to blame them.
But in a class as deep as 2026's, it would also make ample sense to hold onto both picks. The Thunder need to add frontcourt talent, and there will be a number of intriguing prospects available at both slots. Consider a pairing of, say, Yaxel Lendeborg and Dailyn Swain. Or Morez Johnson Jr. and Bennett Stirtz. Those are hard propositions to pass up for a team that, under the new CBA, will need to lean heavily on their rookie-contract talent.
The Wiggins trade leaves only one roster spot open. Simple math would indicate that the Thunder may look to make just a singular first-round pick to fill it.
But the trade has come so early in the offseason that, given the Thunder's cap flexibility, it's hard to imagine that it will be their only move. The Wiggins trade, therefore, may be the first step toward Oklahoma City restocking their coffers with young talent.
If they make both picks on Tuesday night, we'll at least have a better picture of what they plan to do this offseason.
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