Bleacher Report: Thunder should be light buyers or stand pat for the 2023 NBA trade deadline
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With the NBA trade deadline less than three weeks away on Feb. 9, teams across the league need to figure out whether they’re buyers, sellers or somewhere in-between.
Bleacher Report writer Dan Favale went through all 30 NBA teams to figure out what they should do with the upcoming trade deadline.
For the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are 23-24 and tied for the 10th-best record in the West, they’re in the gray area of being both a playoff contender and a rebuilding team.
Favale believes the Thunder should be light buyers or hold and leave their roster as is.
“Every fiber of my being wants to declare the Oklahoma City Thunder all-out buyers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has armed them with a top-10 player, Josh Giddey is evolving, Jalen Williams’ basketball intuition smacks you in the face, Kenrich Williams does a little bit of everything, Isaiah Joe is a human flamethrower, Lu Dort is finding nylon on more threes, the defense is a beautiful blend of frenetic, oft-undisciplined energy — the list goes on. And on.
And then on some more.
And did I mention the Thunder are annihilating opponents when SGA, Dort, Giddey and Kenrich Williams share the floor?
Oklahoma City has firmly planted itself inside the play-in race and remains within striking distance of a more substantive finish. There’s a chance the current ascent fades. There’s also a chance it doesn’t.
We should all endorse a more aggressive deadline approach if the Thunder were built for it. SGA, Dort, Giddey and Chet Holmgren are their four highest-paid players. None of them are going anywhere. Their fifth highest-paid player is Ousman Dieng, who is out with a fractured right wrist and someone you should keep an eye on when healthy. He makes a whopping … $4.6 million.
Limited matching salary is one issue. Roster-spot limbo is another. The Thunder project to have one open slot this summer, which they will fill with their own first-round pick or the Clippers’ selection. They’re unlikely to complicate that situation— especially with so many additional firsts coming their way after this year.
Sign me up for a “light buy” anyway. The Thunder could use more shooting. They’re second in three-point accuracy since the start of January, but even if that’s sustainable, they need a higher-volume sniper. Dangling Darius Bazley’s expiring contract alongside some lower-level assets should be enough to get them a marksman flier (Garrison Mathews? P.J. Washington?).”
Considering the Thunder have several young pieces they want to give an honest shot to develop, it doesn’t make a ton of sense to pivot by bringing in a win-now player.
The Thunder will likely stand pat for the trade deadline sans a possible small Darius Bazley trade.
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Isaiah Joe said he would most definitely participate in 3-point shooting contest if invited