OKC Thunder Trades and Transaction Thread

[Devilanche]

how to a develop a Josh Giddey kind of prospect though in a championship team? That's a tough one

He's a point forward type so just cut down IH and Chet during the regular season to 24 MPG and save them for the playoffs. Keep Caruso around 15 MPG during the regular season. Give Topic-Cason-Essengue a healthy amount of run together so they can all work on ball handling skills and off ball movement together without SGA or JDub out there to bail them out and force them to grow and develop in a hurry. Then by the time the playoffs roll around you have competent ball handling coming off the bench and you don't drop a stupid game 1 to push what should have been a pair of 5 game series into 7 game series.

I think Chet is young enough that you probably aiming anywhere between 28mins to 32 mins for him and IH is not as young but still young enough that you will be giving 24-30 mins .

Best chance to create roster minutes is to move Joe actually and see if a mixture of Wiggins/Topic/Ajay can absorb those minutes.

With that roster spot go best vet hunting and ideally end up with CP3 or Horford (if he’s released by Celtic).

[Devilanche]

This is a guy that drafted a Reebok intern.

FWIW, I'm not in love with Murray-Boyles, but I'm entirely convinced we're going to be drafting a player like him. He fits the profile of the team too well.

What profile is that? Murray-Boyles is a turnover machine that can't shoot. If this was 2015 I'd agree that he fit the bill as a Presti pick. I am showing some faith in Presti that he has evolved to drafting players based on basketball ability and not height, weight, wingspan charts while ignoring basketball skill. I'll take a Reebok intern, Mitch McGary, Josh Huestis and Cam Payne over Murray-Boyles.

I think that’s harsh . Murray Boyles have the archetype that Presti loved in his first Thunder iteration . He has evolved but sometimes it’s kind of hard to not steal a glance at your first love , no matter how much you and her have changed . I don’t think he’s our target but I still like him but maybe not so much for our team.

[spearsy23]

This is a guy that drafted a Reebok intern.

FWIW, I'm not in love with Murray-Boyles, but I'm entirely convinced we're going to be drafting a player like him. He fits the profile of the team too well.

What profile is that? Murray-Boyles is a turnover machine that can't shoot. If this was 2015 I'd agree that he fit the bill as a Presti pick. I am showing some faith in Presti that he has evolved to drafting players based on basketball ability and not height, weight, wingspan charts while ignoring basketball skill. I'll take a Reebok intern, Mitch McGary, Josh Huestis and Cam Payne over Murray-Boyles.

I think that’s harsh . Murray Boyles have the archetype that Presti loved in his first Thunder iteration . He has evolved but sometimes it’s kind of hard to not steal a glance at your first love , no matter how much you and her have changed . I don’t think he’s our target but I still like him but maybe not so much for our team.

Good athlete, defensive versatility, willing passer, solid positional playmaking, poor shooter. Ousmane Dieng, you are an OKC Thunder.

You're not looking for him to play the same role he had in college, so the turnovers aren't as big of a negative as they would be for a guy who is going to handle the ball a significant amount. Instead you're looking at him as a connective playmaker, in the dunker spot, and then continuing to apply positional defensive versatility that can pressure/trap/recover.

[Devilanche]

What profile is that? Murray-Boyles is a turnover machine that can't shoot. If this was 2015 I'd agree that he fit the bill as a Presti pick. I am showing some faith in Presti that he has evolved to drafting players based on basketball ability and not height, weight, wingspan charts while ignoring basketball skill. I'll take a Reebok intern, Mitch McGary, Josh Huestis and Cam Payne over Murray-Boyles.

I think that’s harsh . Murray Boyles have the archetype that Presti loved in his first Thunder iteration . He has evolved but sometimes it’s kind of hard to not steal a glance at your first love , no matter how much you and her have changed . I don’t think he’s our target but I still like him but maybe not so much for our team.

Good athlete, defensive versatility, willing passer, solid positional playmaking, poor shooter. Ousmane Dieng, you are an OKC Thunder.

You're not looking for him to play the same role he had in college, so the turnovers aren't as big of a negative as they would be for a guy who is going to handle the ball a significant amount. Instead you're looking at him as a connective playmaker, in the dunker spot, and then continuing to apply positional defensive versatility that can pressure/trap/recover.

Don’t make sense please.

I want a different skillset .

[bbms]

bad ass **** it is what collin murray-boyles is.

he's not a wingspan freak at all, his elite combine trait is short area quickness, idk where you get that stuff from maybe from the same place that "chet is a natural pf".

cmb's just a baller with a knack for coming up with the basketball on the offensive glass, loose balls and pickpockets with elite finishing at the rim through traffic and contact (face up, post up, transition, put backs, you name it) and racks 5 fouls a game on a 0.556 FTr.

cmb is the essence of what made the thunder grind their way to champions personified and honestly, i like his body type defending jokic better than anything we have in the roster.

[spearsy23]

I think that’s harsh . Murray Boyles have the archetype that Presti loved in his first Thunder iteration . He has evolved but sometimes it’s kind of hard to not steal a glance at your first love , no matter how much you and her have changed . I don’t think he’s our target but I still like him but maybe not so much for our team.

Good athlete, defensive versatility, willing passer, solid positional playmaking, poor shooter. Ousmane Dieng, you are an OKC Thunder.

You're not looking for him to play the same role he had in college, so the turnovers aren't as big of a negative as they would be for a guy who is going to handle the ball a significant amount. Instead you're looking at him as a connective playmaker, in the dunker spot, and then continuing to apply positional defensive versatility that can pressure/trap/recover.

Don’t make sense please.

I want a different skillset .

The problem is that there isn't really a role on the team to fill* except as a defensive oriented 4 that's switchable on the perimeter, can rebound, can be a connective passer, and can shoot. You look at the guys that check those boxes in this draft range and you're mostly looking at guys who at their best can do 2/4, at his best Murray-Boyles can do 3/4. So I think if Presti is drafting off need and not BPA he's the target that makes sense.

Presti can obviously pull a Presti, go BPA, and end up with a great player that seemingly doesn't have a role until he ends up being way better than you expect. This is probably the better outcome, and it's the reason I'd like to keep 24 and get Richardson. Give me the ball player. I just think the rotation is too squeezed right now to add another guy who is primarily a pg-sf. This could change if we DO trade Joe and are comfortable continuing to run Wiggins/Dub as small ball 4s. But not having a single switchable guy with legit 4 size off the bench did cause us some problems.

*Assumes the front office is high on Topic, which I think is a reasonable assumption at this point.

[Devilanche]

bad ass **** it is what collin murray-boyles is.

he's not a wingspan freak at all, his elite combine trait is short area quickness, idk where you get that stuff from maybe from the same place that "chet is a natural pf".

cmb's just a baller with a knack for coming up with the basketball on the offensive glass, loose balls and pickpockets with elite finishing at the rim through traffic and contact (face up, post up, transition, put backs, you name it) and racks 5 fouls a game on a 0.556 FTr.

cmb is the essence of what made the thunder grind their way to champions personified and honestly, i like his body type defending jokic better than anything we have in the roster.

CMB is ++ wingspan and have a great standing reach compared to his listed height . Don’t think anyone here use freak to describe him.

I don’t think anyone we draft is going defend Jokic though to be fair to all draftees

[OKC2008]

Good athlete, defensive versatility, willing passer, solid positional playmaking, poor shooter. Ousmane Dieng, you are an OKC Thunder.

You're not looking for him to play the same role he had in college, so the turnovers aren't as big of a negative as they would be for a guy who is going to handle the ball a significant amount. Instead you're looking at him as a connective playmaker, in the dunker spot, and then continuing to apply positional defensive versatility that can pressure/trap/recover.

Don’t make sense please.

I want a different skillset .

The problem is that there isn't really a role on the team to fill* except as a defensive oriented 4 that's switchable on the perimeter, can rebound, can be a connective passer, and can shoot. You look at the guys that check those boxes in this draft range and you're mostly looking at guys who at their best can do 2/4, at his best Murray-Boyles can do 3/4. So I think if Presti is drafting off need and not BPA he's the target that makes sense.

I think Cedric Coward could fit a lot of that needs, right now he is a 3 more than a 4 but I can see a J-Dub style development in him

[spearsy23]

What do we feel Isaiah Joe is really worth? On court value says late first to me. There's not a lot of 22 minute per game guys that can give you 10/2.5/1.5 on 40+ percent three point shooting. He is also locked in on a more than fair contract for a couple of years. The problem is that very few teams have cap space, so you probably have to take back an expiring contract in order to get a late 1st from anyone.

What about Isaiah Joe/Hou '26 to Chicago for the Chris Duarte Trade Exception and the lotto protected Portland 2026?

[Kizz Fastfists]

What about Isaiah Joe/Hou '26 to Chicago for the Chris Duarte Trade Exception and the lotto protected Portland 2026?

I have no confidence in that pick ever conveying. I think there is a better chance that Utah gets lucky at #5 and OKC gets their pick at #9+ next year than I think Portland is not in the lottery for the '26, '27 and '28 draft. Jerami Grant and Jrue Holiday are going to keep their cap room locked up for the next three years and it's unlikely Sharpe and Clingon and carry them to the playoffs as they are dragged down by an aging holiday and Grant. Portland looks to be in full tank mode for the next few years.

[Zagor]

Please Sam, just don't draft Noa Essengue. Other teams can take him.

Whoever is chosen from this group, I will be fine with that.
CMB, Coward, Bryant, Sorber and Wolf.

[Kizz Fastfists]

Please Sam, just don't draft Noa Essengue. Other teams can take him.

I've been going over prospects through the day...and been drinking a bit. I'm going to make the bold prediction that Essengue is an all-star during his rookie contract and is the best prospect to come out of this draft. I know, it's crazy, how often is a player not taken in the top 10 the best player in their draft? Giannis, Jokic, and Donovan Mitchell come to mind. Let me clarify, he might be 1A/1B like SGA is with Luka. I don't want to argue which of them is the best from that draft class because there is a very strong argument for both. Essengue will be the best value in this draft and passing on him would be a huge mistake. ESPN projects him to go #9 to Toronto, which I'm fine with because it means Presti didn't pass on him and he goes to a team I'm not worried about. Tankathon has him going 14th to the Spurs. I said last year during the draft process Topic going to the Spurs was my nightmare scenario well, Essengue to the Spurs is my nightmare scenario this year.

Yes, I full expect someone to call me out on this if I am wrong in four years. I also have this tendency to remember everything so I'll likely bring this back up and brag about it when I am right.

[Dadouv47]

Read on Twitter

Kizz asked Presti to give John Collins a max contract but our GM is still drunk from the parade and didn't read the fax sent by Kizz. First big mistake of Presti's offseason.

[Dadouv47]

Van vleet declining his 44 millions/year contract to sign a 50 millions over 2 seasons is such a big win for Houston. They are gonna be a threat next season...wonder what they might do now.

[Devilanche]

Please Sam, just don't draft Noa Essengue. Other teams can take him.

I've been going over prospects through the day...and been drinking a bit. I'm going to make the bold prediction that Essengue is an all-star during his rookie contract and is the best prospect to come out of this draft. I know, it's crazy, how often is a player not taken in the top 10 the best player in their draft? Giannis, Jokic, and Donovan Mitchell come to mind. Let me clarify, he might be 1A/1B like SGA is with Luka. I don't want to argue which of them is the best from that draft class because there is a very strong argument for both. Essengue will be the best value in this draft and passing on him would be a huge mistake. ESPN projects him to go #9 to Toronto, which I'm fine with because it means Presti didn't pass on him and he goes to a team I'm not worried about. Tankathon has him going 14th to the Spurs. I said last year during the draft process Topic going to the Spurs was my nightmare scenario well, Essengue to the Spurs is my nightmare scenario this year.

Yes, I full expect someone to call me out on this if I am wrong in four years. I also have this tendency to remember everything so I'll likely bring this back up and brag about it when I am right.

He could be the best but he might not reach his potential if he’s with us. I don’t think we have the minutes required early to let him play through his mistake .

I’m leaning coward for our pick now .

[Kizz Fastfists]

He could be the best but he might not reach his potential if he’s with us. I don’t think we have the minutes required early to let him play through his mistake .

I’m leaning coward for our pick now .

A lot of people have his comp as Siakam. Siakam was older when he entered the NBA, but only got 15 MPG as a rookie and took his big jump in his 3rd year. Given the lack of big men on the roster and the health of Chet and IH I don't think 15 MPG would hard to find for a SF/PF/C. Jaylin got 16 MPG in 47 games last year, Dieng got 11 MPG in 27 games, Jones got 10 MPG in 54 games. There are minutes available for a player like Essengue. Even if he doesn't break into the top 8 for the playoff rotation there are plenty of regular season minutes for him to play. That goes for whoever gets drafted. Just look at the MPG and games for the bottom of the roster and two-way players last year. You'll see there were plenty of minutes to give to a high upside player.

I'm still not certain Presti adds a rookie and doesn't just trade both picks for a future unprotected pick from a team like the Bucks or Warriors trying to squeeze one or two more runs out of an aging core. Think about a 2030 or 2031 unprotected pick from GSW. Curry, Butler, Green and Hield all washed up or gone. Presti gets to add a top 5 pick as SGA hits 30/31.

[spearsy23]

Please Sam, just don't draft Noa Essengue. Other teams can take him.

I've been going over prospects through the day...and been drinking a bit. I'm going to make the bold prediction that Essengue is an all-star during his rookie contract and is the best prospect to come out of this draft. I know, it's crazy, how often is a player not taken in the top 10 the best player in their draft? Giannis, Jokic, and Donovan Mitchell come to mind. Let me clarify, he might be 1A/1B like SGA is with Luka. I don't want to argue which of them is the best from that draft class because there is a very strong argument for both. Essengue will be the best value in this draft and passing on him would be a huge mistake. ESPN projects him to go #9 to Toronto, which I'm fine with because it means Presti didn't pass on him and he goes to a team I'm not worried about. Tankathon has him going 14th to the Spurs. I said last year during the draft process Topic going to the Spurs was my nightmare scenario well, Essengue to the Spurs is my nightmare scenario this year.

Yes, I full expect someone to call me out on this if I am wrong in four years. I also have this tendency to remember everything so I'll likely bring this back up and brag about it when I am right.

Just out of curiosity, Donovan Mitchell over Tatum?

[Kizz Fastfists]

Just out of curiosity, Donovan Mitchell over Tatum?

I somehow missed Tatum in that draft, but I'd consider that a SGA and Luka situation of 1A/1B. Both have made 5 all-star games and they are virtually statistically identical both traditional and advanced. I'd probably give Tatum an edge, but I'd also give Luka an edge of SGA, which might get me lynched if I were still in OKC.

[Kizz Fastfists]

Any chance we could just get the first 3 picks in within 60 seconds? Flagg is going #1, Harper is going #2 and the 76ers know who they are taking.

[Dadouv47]

very quiet draft night so far...probably ton of movement after the lottery with all those Nets picks and OKC too