With the NBA trade deadline in just over a week, it’s the time of year in which everyone around the league attempts to predict what could happen. There will be plenty of buyers, as well as several sellers, but it’s yet to be seen which teams fall in which category.
On Monday morning, Michael Pina of The Ringer proposed five teams that should make a move at the deadline. One of these teams was the Oklahoma City Thunder.
While is seems likely that the Thunder will be pretty quiet at the deadline, the proposed trade idea for them would be quite the splash.
In this mock trade, Oklahoma City deals with the San Antonio Spurs to make a push for the play-in.
Oklahoma City gets: Jakob Poeltl
San Antonio gets: Mike Muscala, OKC’s lottery-protected 2023 first-round pick, and LAC’s unprotected 2024 first-round pick
It would be pretty shocking if the Thunder made this deal. After all, GM Sam Presti has preached patience during the rebuild, and this would be the opposite of that. If Oklahoma City could get Poeltl for cheap, it could make sense. But for a key veteran and two first rounders, one of which being unprotected, this deal doesn’t make sense.
Furthermore, Poeltl is in the final year of his deal. The Thunder would risk him walking this summer if a deal couldn’t be made to keep him around. That’s a significant set of assets for a potential rental or a guy that needs to be paid. Furthermore, he’ll be 28 years old at the start of next season.
While Poeltl would be fun in OKC and really help the team make a playoff push, this move is premature in the current state of the Thunder rebuild.
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