Does this trade make sense for the OKC Thunder?
Moving Kenrich Williams and Mike Muscala for Talen Horton-Tucker should definitely peak the interest of GM Sam Presti and the Thunder’s front-office, but the swap of second-round picks here does not make much sense.
Even if it is a second-round pick, the Thunder’s 2022 second-round pick is going to end up 31-35, which makes this a somewhat valuable draft pick.
Trading this for a 2025 second-round pick does absolutely nothing for the Thunder and while Talen Horton-Tucker is a young player with upside, he is still not worth much value.
The Thunder are in the driver’s seat for a trade like this, as Los Angeles is going to be the team begging them to make this deal.
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If Oklahoma City does not want to include their 2022 second-round pick, they should be able to remain firm because at the end of the day, they have nothing to lose if they do not make this trade.
Should Muscala and Williams start the season with the Thunder, this team has no problem with this scenario, which is why the Los Angeles Lakers are the ones who will need to be willing to take the “pay cut” per se.
