Does this trade make sense for the OKC Thunder?
Thunder GM Sam Presti clearly has a plan for the Thunder and it has been centered around draft picks. They are at a point where they will not be competing for quite some time so they could continue to load up on picks and younger talent that will not cost much moving forward.
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has turned himself into a player that will eventually get a nice payday. There’s really no reason to decide to move on from him unless the Thunder were getting very…creative with their team building approach. If the goal is to avoid having major contracts on the books as they rebuild the right way or feel he may grow tired of all the losing in a rebuild, it’s justifiable, to an extent.
Jonas Valanciunas is a short-term option given his contract situation but the main draw would be Jaren Jackson Jr. If the Thunder manage to land a top pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and can land a legitamate star like Cade Cunningham or Evan Mobley, moving Shai Gilgous-Alexander just doesn’t make sense.
It takes star power to win in the NBA and the Thunder already ahve one of the main pieces of a highly successful team showing major signs of promise in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Building around that is the right way to go, not moving him.
