Oklahoma City Thunder Receive: G Eric Gordon, MIL 2023 1st Round Pick (via HOU), HOU 2024 2nd Round Pick

Houston Rockets Receive: G Theo Maledon

With the Rockets rebuilding, Eric Gordon’s time in Houston is coming to an end. While the 32-year-old shooting guard is under contract through the 2023-24 season, the final year of his contract is non-guaranteed, so he is only under contract through the 2022-23 season for whatever team trades for him.

Gordon is owed $18.2M this season, then $19.6M next season, which is a lot for any team to take on at this point after free agency. Still, the Oklahoma City Thunder could be a team interested in the veteran shooting guard. 

Not only could he step into the rotation behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, giving the Thunder some more depth, but Oklahoma City also has a salary cap floor to reach, as they are about $20M under this soft cap. At some point, the Thunder will need to add another big contract to their roster, so why not take on Eric Gordon’s contract for some more draft picks! 

General manager Sam Presti loves himself some draft picks, and while they would have to sacrifice a young guard like Theo Maledon, the Thunder would be adding two more draft assets to build their team of the future. Plus, Oklahoma City may not need Maledon anymore after drafting Josh Giddey and Tre Mann in the first round. 

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Oklahoma City’s backcourt is kind of crowded right now with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Tre Mann, Theo Maledon, Ty Jerome, and Vit Krejci, so moving Maledon for draft compensation and a veteran mentor like Eric Gordon could pay off in the long run for the Thunder.