Does this trade make sense for the Oklahoma City Thunder?
Who knows what GM Sam Presti’s intent for trading for Kemba Walker actually was, but he got a first-round pick out of Al Horford, which is why he made this offseason deal with the Boston Celtics. Now though, Walker may not even suti up for the Thunder in a game since he is still one of the most discussed players of the offseason.
Oklahoma City is in no position to contend for a championship and they know this, which is why they are taking their time and building for the future carefully. They have a lot of talented, young players in Shai GIlgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley and others, but this offseason is going to be vital for them since they have six draft picks now.
The Thunder could wind up with more draft picks by the end of the 2021 NBA Draft, but as of right now, it is expected that they are going to try and make some kind of a move to bring in another highly talented young player. This could mean that they may try and move up in the draft, possibly even trade up to get the No. 1 overall pick from the Detroit Pistons to draft Cade Cunningham!
Whatever the Thunder have planned, they have not disclosed their secrets yet, but we can infer that Kemba Walker is not a part of their long-term plans. He may spend one season with the team, but overall, if OKC can get more draft compensation and young talents for Walker, they will pull the trigger on a deal.
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This is why trading Kemba to the New York Knicks makes sense for the Thunder. Not only do they get their hands on a fourth first-round pick in this year’s draft, but they would also get a young center that they can build with moving forward in Mitchell Robinson.
We also talked about before how acquiring Kevin Knox really is a win-win situation for the Thunder because they would not be tied down to him in any way. Knox has one year and $5.8M remaining on his contract, which is why the Thunder could “roll the dice” on him and worst case scenario, he just becomes a free agent after the 2021-22 season and Oklahoma City lets him go.
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There really is not anything not to like about this trade if you are the Thunder, which is why they should be more than happy to trade Kemba Walker to the New York Knicks. Could the Thunder want to keep Walker for this season to pair with SGA in their backcourt?
Absolutely, but it definitely makes more sense for the Thunder to trade Walker now while they can still get the value they want for him.
