The 2023-24 NBA season may be the first one in a while where the Oklahoma City Thunder will be buyers at the trade deadline. They currently sit at the top of the Western Conference as we close in on the All-Star game in Indianapolis, Indiana, and could be looking to improve their roster as they get ready for a playoff push.
This is the time of year when all national media outlets propose trades for teams looking to buy at the deadline. In this case, the Thunder are one of those teams. Websites like ESPN and many others will propose very unrealistic or bad trades that teams should do. Sometimes, it’s fun to entertain the idea of these trades; other times, it’s obvious that those deals will not happen.
Recently, ESPN proposed a trade for the Thunder that just wouldn’t make any sense for their organization.
ESPN Proposes Bad Trade for the Thunder at the Deadline
ESPN recently proposed several trades for some teams buying at the deadline. The one they did for Oklahoma City wasn’t great. In fact, it’s one that may set the Thunder’s entire process back a bit, including some of the development of their young players.
ESPN proposed that the Thunder should trade Aleksej Pokusevski, who has fallen out of the rotation with some healthy scratches over the last few weeks, to the Chicago Bulls, along with three second-round picks, to receive center Andre Drummond.
This deal does not really move the needle for the Thunder, and it takes away minutes from guys like Jaylin Williams, who is a big man that stretches the floor a bit, has great defense, and can create for others by passing in the post or at the top of the key. It’s obvious Drummond is not good enough to start over rookie Chet Holmgren, but he could take away some minutes, considering they would add another big man to the rotation.
Pokusevski is on an expiring contract and will be a free agent at the end of the season. Drummond is also on an expiring contract, per Spotrac, but the move is still not good enough to give up three second-round picks, especially when those can be packaged to get a player of greater value and more useful for the Thunder.
The Last Word
As far as making trades in general, Sam Presti, the Thunder’s general manager, is not afraid to make some moves if it means getting better now and in the future. He does it every now and then. So, be on the lookout for a move at the deadline – as long as it makes more sense than the one ESPN proposed.
