Detroit Pistons Receive: OKC 2021 1st Round Pick (Pick #6), BOS 2021 1st Round Pick (Pick #16), MIA 2021 1st Round Pick (Pick #18)
Oklahoma City Thunder Receive: DET 2021 1st Round Pick (Pick #1)
One team to keep an eye on over the course of the entire offseason is the Oklahoma City Thunder. Their general manager, Sam Presti, has done an excellent job at stockpiling draft picks over the next several years, as OKC has the rights to 38 draft picks through the 2027 NBA Draft, but nobody really seems to know what their long-term plan is.
With young talents in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley and others, as well as an established All-Star in Kemba Walker, the Thunder could easily sit back and just draft away with their six draft picks this year, but the chances of them making moves are very high.
Oklahoma City would have loved to end up with a Top-5 pick in this year’s draft, but instead, they were forced to settle with the 6th pick in the draft lottery, leaving them with No. 6, No. 16 and No. 18 in the first-round this year.
All three of these picks could be lumped together and traded to the Pistons in a potential deal to acquire the No. 1 overall pick and Cade Cunningham. What Detroit seeks from teams with an extensive offering of draft assets will be something to watch in trade rumors as the 2021 NBA Draft approaches.
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Compared to the Rockets trade, the Pistons would not be able to grab Jalen Green unless they were to try and move back up after moving down in the draft, but they would be getting the 16th and 18th picks instead of the 23rd and 24th picks.
Getting more overall value instead of top-heavy value with Green could very much play in favor of Detroit, especially since there will still be impactful players on the board for them with the 6th pick.
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If the Pistons were to want more value for the 1st overall pick in this year’s draft, then Oklahoma City could definitely be willing to “match their price,” as they have pretty much anything Detroit would want. Young talents like Aleksej Pokusevski, Theo Maledon, Isaiah Roby and even Luguentz Dort could probably be made available in trade talks, as could 37 other draft picks they own!
The options for the Thunder really are limitless and if the Pistons are looking for a ton of future value, then they could easily strike a deal with Oklahoma City. The only problem with trading with them is that the Pistons would not be able to get “their guy” in Jalen Green.
