The Oklahoma City Thunder’s season has come to a close, and it left a bitter feeling in a lot of the players and fans mouths. They fell short in a Game Seven of the Conference Finals to a young Spurs team that didn’t have much, if any, playoff experience at all. Many have begun to ask the question: Does this team need to make a move in the offseason to get back to the top? If they do make a move, will it be a move for a big-name player, or will it be a smaller type of move to tighten up the flaws they had shown?
The Thunder could make some noise this offseason, and it starts with what they decide to do with Isaiah Hartenstein and Lu Dort. Both players are vital to this team, and both players have a team option in their contracts. Dort has taken a small decline from last season, so OKC could decline his team option, which would put him in free agency.
A name that surfaced a little while back was Giannis Antetokounmpo, and right after the Thunder got eliminated, his name was brought up again in many rumors. He would be a major upgrade for the team, but there are many questions that need to be answered if they decide to go out and trade for the Bucks’ superstar.
Who would be the big piece heading out in a trade for Giannis? The name everyone has been mentioning recently because of his play in Game Seven has been Chet Holmgren. He played very bad to his standards, but Giannis works well with a floor spacing five, like we’ve seen in the past with Brook Lopez when they won the championship in 2021. So that means the next player on the table would be Jalen Williams, who was hurt for almost their entire playoff run, and they still managed to get as far as they did.
A trade for Giannis could cost them one of either Jalen Williams or Chet Holmgren, and a plethora of first-round picks that the Thunder could add to the package. Giannis has been unhealthy for the past few seasons, and that could really limit what OKC is trying to accomplish. He could ruin the chemistry and culture that has already been built and has worked. SGA and Giannis would easily become one of, if not the best, duo in the league, but sometimes just because it looks good on paper doesn’t mean it works well on the court.
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