The Oklahoma City Thunder need to make a move at the 2019 NBA Trade Deadline. Here is one trade that would make sense with each NBA team.
Arguably the most exciting time of the entire NBA regular season is almost here: the trade deadline. With the Feb. 7 deadline just a few weeks away, what moves could the Oklahoma City Thunder make with each NBA team?
With how tight the playoff race is thus far, there seems to be many more teams looking to buy rather than sell. This is something that makes the 2019 NBA Trade Deadline extremely intriguing, not just for the Thunder.
Will it be a slow, underwhelming trade deadline because of this, or will it be very busy with teams overpaying for new pieces? When it comes to the Thunder in particular, there are two directions they can go at the deadline.
Will they make moves for rental players to make sure they can truly contend this season, or will they continue to stockpile assets on longer-term deals and continue to gear up for championship runs in the future? Last season, the Thunder did not make any trade deadline moves at all.
The Thunder may stay away from players in their final year of their deals, as a lot of money is ready to be spent in the upcoming offseason in free agency.
Relative to other teams around the league, the Thunder will likely not be able to retain these types of players, as other teams will be able to offer much more lucrative deals.
Oklahoma City has two glaring issues that need to be addressed prior to the deadline. They are in dire need of a 3-point shooting wing, as well as a more consistent backup power forward.
The Thunder are currently dead last in the NBA in 3-point percentage. Even with the league’s third-best defense, the modern NBA forces teams to be good 3-point shooting teams in order to succeed at the highest level.
Sam Presti is one of the best general managers in the league and as of late has been extremely aggressive in getting the team back to contention after losing Kevin Durant for nothing in the summer of 2016.
Let’s dive into one potential trade with each team in the NBA that would benefit the Thunder, whether it be a short-term or long-term solution.