NBA Mock Trade: Thunder Move Up for Wing Defender
The 2022 NBA Draft is just five days out, and the Thunder are likely exhausting every single avenue they can to move up and grab their guy.
While the Thunder could stay at No. 12, there’s plenty of talent teeming further up. The problem is, it could be costly.
One player the Thunder have been linked to by mocks and reputation alike is Dyson Daniels, a 6-foot-7 Australian guard prospect who played for the G-League Ignite last season.
Daniels is a skilled player, with stifling perimeter defense and touch scoring the ball. He functions well as a playmaker and passer, and could fit seamlessly into a starting lineup alongside Josh Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with his 6-foot-11 wingspan.
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All-in-all, Daniels play and relationship with Giddey likely makes him a trade up target for general manager Sam Presti, but one issue would be minutes.
Oklahoma City has a bit of a blockage at the guard spot, with Giddey, Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort and Tre Mann all logging minutes.
The price to move up might be costly, but Dort has reportedly been a target of Blazers for awhile now.
Dort is currently in need of a new contract, and Oklahoma City could very likely be ready to offer that to him. But if they did indeed want to move in a different direction, now's the time to cash in on their undrafted pick.
Here is what a trade up could look like for OKC:
