Does this trade make sense for the Oklahoma City e?
If there is a draft pick involved, you know general manager Sam Presti is going to be interested! Presti has done a fantastic job of building this young Oklahoma City Thunder core over the years and always flipping pieces around, he is always very eager to get involved in “salary dump” trades if it means acquiring a draft pick or two.
Oklahoma City has a total of 35 draft picks to their name through the 2028 NBA Draft, giving them enough draft capital to create two entirely new NBA teams! Adding yet another second-round pick to their arsenal should sound appealing to the Thunder and they would be getting a draft pick for a player that is on the trade block.
Kenrich Williams is not a guy part of the Thunder’s long-term plans and is nothing more than a rotational talent right now. He is the only player/asset they would have to move in this trade and in return, the Thunder would be adding a second-round pick in 2024 and Tristan Thompson.
While his upside is limited and would not be a long-term piece to the Oklahoma City Thunder’s puzzle, Thompson is a key veteran that could not only help this OKC frontcourt immediately, but he is in the final year of his contract.
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Having a $12.8M trade exception to use, the Oklahoma City Thunder would have no problem bringing in his $9.7M contract for this season and would not be tied down to paying him past this year. They could even buy him out of his contract upon arrival if they wanted to, but he would most likely stick around seeing as they are also trying to move veteran center Derrick Favors ahead of the trade deadline.
Starting the year 4-6, the Oklahoma City Thunder have surprised many around the league because they are the youngest team in the league.
This team is finding ways to win games, even though they were picked to finish last in the Western Conference, which is why they could be interested in making this move to bolster their roster ahead of the trade deadline.
The Thunder are only going to get better with time and with all the young talents they have, their future is extremely bright.
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At no risk to them in getting rid of Williams for Thompson and a second-round pick, there is no reason why Sam Presti and the Oklahoma City Thunder would not want to make this trade.
