NBA Media Personality Suggests a Cooper Flagg Trade Up for OKC Thunder

Throughout the entirety of Oklahoma City’s rebuild, the Thunder have been a prominent talking point leading up to the NBA draft. Ever since the trade for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the team has been well positioned to make a big splash, whether it be via trade or through the draft.

Oklahoma City got a record-breaking number of draft picks to start off the rebuild, giving them the ammo to make any move possible. Because of the team’s progression, the Thunder haven’t needed to use really any assets to make it back to the top. OKC has been kicking the extra picks down the road, giving them insurance for the future when an inevitable rebuild comes again. Should the Thunder be looking for an all-in move that pushes them over the top, though?

Bill Simmons, a prominent NBA media member, suggested the Thunder kill two birds with one stone and trade up for a potential superstar this summer. Oklahoma City’s timeline will need to line up with cost efficient contracts, similar to the current makeup of the roster, and adding a coveted rookie would certainly fit the bill.

Should the OKC Thunder consider making a move to draft Cooper Flagg?

GM Bill makes the case that now might be the time for the Thunder to cash in their draft picks.@BillSimmons @RobMahoney pic.twitter.com/AG8xaeD4yQ
— The Ringer (@ringer) February 14, 2025

“What are they gonna do with all these picks,” Simmons asked. “Could this be the year that they use that seventh, eighth, ninth Philly pick, if that’s the pick — add like eight picks to it and just say ‘Give us Cooper Flagg.’

“Here’s the all-time mother load of picks. Let’s say Charlotte gets the first pick, and just gets a war chest of the all-time most picks ever in a trade from OKC, just to move back six spots. You’d have to have like a four hour meeting about that. Cooper Flagg is really good, but you’d have to really think about it. Because it’s not a Wembanyama pick. And if you’re OKC, I think you would also really have to think about it, because what the Thunder need more than anything are cost controlled players.”

It’s a good idea in a vacuum, and of course any team would be interested in Flagg. But sometimes the idea is better than the actual fit. We saw the Warriors try to blend its current core with a new batch of youngsters and it ended in disaster.

There’s also the fact that it takes two teams to tango in trade talks. If Oklahoma City is offering protected first round picks or picks later on down the road, it’s a calculated risk for whatever team is doing business. If a prospect like Flagg falls into your lap, it’s hard to pass that up for first round picks so far down the line.

If Sam Presti could make it happen, though, of course Oklahoma City would make it work. Adding Flagg to this young core could be unbelievably special, even if it’s unlikely.

“If you could have four cost controlled years of Cooper Flagg, as you are contending with the rest of this roster, if he is as good as advertised he might be the single most attractive piece to the Thunder for exactly that reason,” Simmons said.

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