Could the OKC Thunder Trade for Hawks Star Guard?
One of the most controversial Thunder-related topics this season has been whether or not the team should push some of its chips to make a trade for a big-name player to strengthen the team's championship odds.
On top of that, further looking into the trade discussion offers unique names to make trades for. Most fans have lobbied for a Lauri Markkanen trade, assuming he'll want out of Utah and that the Jazz are looking for a clean reset.
Another name to look at in the trade market, in general, is Dejounte Murray, as the Atlanta Hawks could look to move on from him to ensure Trae Young keeps the keys to the team and has more suited help around him.
According to Bovada, the Thunder is tied for the third-best odds to trade for Murray, should he be traded. They sit at +950 odds, tied with the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors. The most likely of those teams feels like the 76ers, as they could add him to the duo of Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid.
The New York Knicks (+105) and Los Angeles Lakers (-115) lead the odds to land Murray. Each of the teams tied with or ahead of the Thunder in odds makes more sense as a landing spot for Murray.
With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Josh Giddey, Lu Dort and plenty of guard depth, the trade just doesn't make too much sense for the Thunder. It's hard to imagine they compromise depth for a win-now move this early in the rebuild.
Having a war chest of future draft picks, though, the Thunder will continually be involved in these future trade odds and will consistently be looped into trade rumors and discussions.
Still, it's hard to imagine the Thunder trades for a forward, let alone a guard, where they have more than enough depth at. With a potential playoff series coming in this season, the Thunder can fully analyze what they have and how the team looks in the postseason. Until then, making win-now trades seems short-sighted.
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