Thunder-Kings Trade Grades: Injured OKC Gets Low-Cost Wing Depth in Nique Clifford

The Thunder needed help in their wing room with early injuries to Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace plus the offseason departures of Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe. Without Williams, Wallace and Dort, Oklahoma City needed some support on defense specifically.

With its depth decimated, especially with another significant injury to Chet Holmgren, the Thunder answered part of the question on Sunday. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the Thunder are trading for second-year Kings wing Nique Clifford in exchange for two second-round picks.

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Clifford was the 24th pick in the 2025 draft and had a strong rookie season, but he’s fallen out of Sacramento coach Doug Christie’s rotation this year. Now, the Colorado State product will play a part in keeping the hobbled Thunder a title contender amid the injury woes.

With a rare November trade, let’s grade the deal for both sides:

Oklahoma City Thunder

Nique Clifford will join the Oklahoma City Thunder | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Receive: Nique Clifford

Clifford was the only player moved in this deal and he fills a clear need for Oklahoma City. He was a solid scorer and three-point shooter at Colorado State, specifically in his final season where he averaged 18.9 points and shot 37.7% from three-point range on nearly five attempts per game. He hasn’t had a ton of offensive opportunity in his early NBA career, but the Thunder won’t need him to provide much scoring with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain taking the majority of that responsibility until Holmgren returns.

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Where Clifford will make an impact the most is on the defensive end. At 6'5", he’s a highly impactful rebounder for his position and can guard the perimeter—a glaring hole for OKC. Clifford grabbed 9.8 rebounds and had 1.8 stocks (steals plus blocks) per game in his final season at Colorado State. As a rookie with the Kings, he averaged 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 stocks in 25.1 minutes per game. Although he won’t need to do a ton offensively, he is a two-way player who can knock down shots and find his teammates for easy looks when he has the ball in his hands. Maybe the change of scenery which brings more opportunity on a much better team unlocks more of his game, too.

He clearly fits on the floor, but he fits the Thunder’s cap sheet more importantly. OKC is currently $4.5 million under the dreaded second apron according to Spotrac. As the 24th pick of last year’s draft, Clifford remains on his rookie scale contract which pays him $3.3 million this season. That keeps the team under the second apron which would hamper further moves if the threshold was exceeded.

He’ll make just $3.4 million next season then jump to $6 million in 2028–29 should the option on the final year of his rookie contract get exercised. He’s a low-cost player who helps the increasingly expensive roster and arrives for the nominal fee of two second-rounders. And Sam Presti has a great track record with taking fliers on players who were cast away by other teams.

Grade: A

Sacramento Kings

Receive: Two second-round picks

Clifford showed promise for the Kings last year, but he strangely fell out of the rotation early on ahead of the trade. Christie gave his minutes to players like Leaky Black and Emanuel Sharp, which was strange after a solid rookie season. If Sacramento didn’t see Clifford as a part of its future, it’s fine to trade him away for some draft capital and open up a more clear path to minutes for Alex Karaban, a first-round pick this year. What’s not fine, however, is what the Kings gave up to acquire Clifford originally.

Ironically, the Thunder held the 24th pick in the 2025 draft. The Kings traded them a future first-round pick to move into the late first round to take Clifford. The future pick Sacramento traded to Oklahoma City for Clifford is San Antonio’s first-rounder in the 2027 draft. It’s protected for picks 1–16 and if it doesn’t convey, the pick turns into two second-rounders. Since the pick originally belonged to the Spurs, it will likely fall toward the end of the first round and head to the Thunder, unless they decide to trade it.

That leaves the Kings without a first-round draft asset and, unless the two second-rounders become anything, all they got was one season and eight games worth of Clifford. It’s not like Sacramento was even close to the playoff picture in his only full season with the team either.

Acquiring some sort of draft capital for a player the team no longer believes in is good business, but considering what the Kings initially gave up for Clifford, it was anything but. Another puzzling move from the Kings while the team is on its way to yet another dreadful season. Should Clifford pop in Oklahoma City, which overlooked prospects seem to, this deal would be an even more difficult pill to swallow for Kings fans.

Grade: D+

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