Does this trade make sense for the Oklahoma City Thunder?
The Oklahoma City Thunder are nowhere near being ready to compete in a difficult Western Conference. They made an isolated run to the postseason last year led by Chris Paul and now have decided to rebuild from the ground up. This NBA trade scenario would land them a player they could build around moving forward.
Kristaps Porzingis gives off the vibe of a player that would be content being the No. 1 option on a bad team. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the lineup, that wouldn’t be the case. However, he’d likely be a more prominently featured member of the Thunder’s offense than he is in Dallas.
The Thunder just traded for Kemba Walker, but it would be surprising to see him be there long-term. This seems like a move that was made so they could flip him for another return at a later point. Managing to ‘buy-low’ on Porzingis could be a genuinely intriguing option to pursue.
The Thunder would not get draft capital but the Thunder could add two players ready to come in and play right away. This will partly depend on which position in the NBA Draft order Oklahoma City ends up holding after the ping pong balls bounce. If they’re in a position to take Evan Mobley, then making a move to acquire a big like Kristaps Porzingis wouldn’t make sense.
READ MORE: NBA Rumors: 3 dark-horse potential trade destinations for Mavericks’ Kristaps Porzingis
Thunder GM Sam Presti clearly has a plan and it will be interesting to see how it is put into motion. If a dynamic big man is not added through the NBA Draft, it would be genuinely intriguing to make a move for Kristaps Porzingis to have a stretch-five for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and their other incoming perimeter talent they draft.
