Oklahoma City Thunder Receive: F John Collins, G Kevin Huerter, 2023 First-Round Pick (ATL), 2023 First-Round Pick (CHA), 2025 First-Round Pick (ATL)
Atlanta Hawks Receive: G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
This trade sees the Oklahoma City Thunder acquire two useful young players and three first-round picks in exchange for the hyper-talented Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The main draw for the Thunder, of course, is the draft capital. General Manager Sam Presti gets to further his goal of having the Thunder draft an entire first round.
Those 2023 picks are particularly valuable. That draft class has the potential to be historic. Victor Wembenyama is the biggest prize: he’s the most anticipated NBA prospect since LeBron James. Still, the draft is littered with potential All-Stars and franchise players. With lottery luck, the Thunder’s rebuild will end next summer.
In that event, having Collins and Huerter around will become instantly useful. Of course, there’s a downside risk here: they are good NBA players. They could help the Thunder win games next year. That would depreciate the value of their own first-round pick.
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Since that’s the only pick they control, that would run counter to their entire team-building strategy.
If Presti feels similarly, here’s another package that may entice him.
