3 Dream trade deadline targets for the Thunder (and what they’d cost)

These are the biggest targets for the Thunder at the trade deadline.

Throughout the NBA this season, the Oklahoma City Thunder have surprised a lot of people. The Thunder, who were a play-in team the previous season, have swiftly become one of the West’s elite teams and are presently the top seed in a packed conference.

 

Many noticed OKC’s organization’s talent and promise, but few realized they would rise to this degree of success so quickly. They have clearly made their presence known, and the rest of the league has been warned.

There are a couple players that would be great additions to help OKC advance, and the trade deadline is less than 100 hours away. We will examine four ideal targets for the Thunder in this article, along with an estimate of how much each player would cost to sign.

1. Trey Murphy III

Trey Murphy, one of the league’s most gifted bench scorers, would be a fantastic complement to the Thunder’s lineup. Although his numbers have slightly decreased this season, he demonstrated his scoring prowess in 79 games played for the Pelicans previous season, averaging 14.5 points on 48% shooting.

NBA teams, as is well known, select players according to their potential. Murphy has the potential to be a unique player in this league for many years to come because of his quickness, scoring ability, and general feel for the game.

 

Given this, Murphy’s asking price would probably be more than that of the majority of players who score 10.8 points

a game in their careers. It would be a significant ask for the Thunder to give up

several first-round picks in addition to other players in order to get Murphy.

2. Mikal Bridges

Mikal Bridges, another explosive offensive player, has had a significant increase in opportunity since joining the

Brooklyn Nets in February of last year. From the moment he was selected in the

2018 NBA Draft until moving to Brooklyn during the trade deadline the previous

year, the talented wing was a productive member of the Phoenix Suns rotation.

It was obvious for the Suns to deal Mikal after Kevin Durant arrived in Phoenix. Bridges went on a scoring binge, averaging 26.1 points in his 27 games with Brooklyn last season, after establishing himself as one of the Nets’ main offensive options the day he arrived.

 

The Thunder already have one of the league’s most potent young scorers in Jalen Williams, so starting Mikal Bridges next to him would be a complete cheat. To get him, OKC would probably have to forfeit a sizable haul.

There have been rumors that clubs have called the Nets and made an offer of “five first-round picks” for Bridges, but these rumors appear implausible. But if any team has the draft capital to assemble a package this size, it’s the Thunder.

3. Lauri Markkanen

The Utah Jazz have exceeded expectations for the second consecutive year. Utah started the 2022–23 season as the conference’s top team before trading some of their best players and finished just outside the play-in. Prior to the season, Utah was predicted to finish at the very bottom of the West. Despite numerous predictions for them to finish 14th or 15th in the preseason once again, they are in the play-in zone this season.

Lauri Markkanen is one of the main reasons they still surprise teams. The big man from Finland has drastically changed the course of his career, as shown by his 2023 Most Improved Player title. As part of the Donovan Mitchell trade, Markkanen was sent to the Jazz after five solid but unspectacular seasons in Cleveland and Chicago.

 

Lauri’s averages since coming to Utah have been 25.6 and 23.5 points, respectively, increasing his shooting %

and demonstrating his dangerousness in pick-and-roll and iso scenarios. He is

among the top big men available, and the Thunder would be ecstatic to have him

in the frontcourt alongside Chet Holmgren.

The stated outrageous asking price would be the largest obstacle to OKC acquiring Lauri. According to rumors, the Jazz have informed teams that they are seeking “five-ish firsts” in return for their gifted big man. The Thunder could want to hold off on making a deal that big even with their abundance of picks.