Does this trade make sense for the OKC Thunder?

No matter what the Thunder would have to give up, if they can get Al Horford off of their books, then the trade makes sense for them. Oklahoma City does not want to pay him $53.5M through the next two years, which is why this trade with the Spurs makes sense. 

By making this trade in the offseason, the Thunder would have about $74M to play around in free agency or hold onto for future years. Next year, the Thunder are going to be better than they were this year, assuming that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is fully healthy and they end up with one of the top players in the draft, but this team is still not going to make the playoffs. 

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As a result, continuing to gather young talent and assets like Jakob Poeltl makes sense for the Thunder, which is why they should be willing to make this trade with the Spurs. Giving up one first-round pick leaves the Thunder with 18 more first-round picks, which should be enough for them. 

Moving on from Al Horford and his contract would be the ultimate reason why the Thunder would look to make this trade and is really the only reason why they should be interested. Who cares who the Thunder are getting in return because right now, all GM Sam Presti cares about is draft picks and salary relief. 

With the Thunder having young talents, a gazillion draft picks over the next several years and a monster amount of cap space, they can quickly turn things around and go from last-place to being a true championship contender for at least the next decade. It all starts though with trading Al Horford in the offseason.