Why The Oklahoma City Thunder Do The Deal
In some ways, the marriage between the Thunder and Gilgeous-Alexander has felt tenuous for some time.
After all, the Thunder have the longest-term focus in the NBA. They seem intent on stockpiling draft capital at all costs and maximizing their own picks in the process. Losses are wins for this organization, as long as they hit on their lottery picks.
That’s all well and good. “Tanking” is a controversial team-building strategy, but it’s a fair one. On the other hand, it does little for a star player in his prime like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
We don’t know if SGA wants out of OKC. He’s still young, so perhaps he’s willing to be patient. With that said, he’s also simply too good to facilitate increased lottery odds. Gilgeous-Alexander is ready to contribute to wins, and that’s a problem for the Thunder.
Granted, they can just shut him down at any given point in the year, but surely that’s bound to ruffle his feathers eventually.
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If the situation is already approaching that point, flipping their star guard for a couple of young players, three first-round picks and a swap could be a smart decision for the Thunder this summer.
