Revisiting the OKC Thunder's Trade With the Charlotte Hornets

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Charlotte Hornets got together for a Trade Deadline swap which needs to be revisited ahead of Sunday's matchup.

Feb 23, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Tre Mann (23) dribbles against / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

As the Oklahoma City Thunder lick the wounds of their first three-game losing streak of the season, they head into a literal Hornets' nest on Sunday for a family reunion.

Back on Feb. 9th the OKC Thunder and their buzz city counterparts made a deal that sent Gordon Hayward to Bricktown in exchange for Vasilije Micic, Tre Mann, Davis Bertans, two second-round picks and cash considerations.

The move freed up some cap space for the Thunder while also giving them a veteran presence that can steady an offense that sometimes falls into lulls during game, provide floor spacing and round out the rotation on paper.

So far, Hayward has not turned the blueprint into life and is currently listed as questionable for Sunday's tilt with a left Posterior Tibialis Strain after missing seven weeks this season with a calf strain.

This will lead to many people re-evaluating the true winner of this swap as Mann, Micic and Bertans find their way into the Hornets rotation with some highlight plays sprinkled in. However, it is not as though the stunning teal and purple threads they now don in Charlotte has changed the trio as players.

Mann is the same player he was for the 2021-22 Thunder before his minutes were slashed, Micic is an offensive weapon setting the table but still would struggle to be able to nab a mainstay role due to his defensive limitations, and Bertans has been the same sharpshooting liability ass the past seven seasons.

While it is great to see them getting more court time in the Queen City, had this trade never been made their fate would have been the same in Bricktown as it was for the first 51 games of this season.

The trio sent to Charlotte got to stretch their legs and make their bid to extend their NBA careers while the Thunder freed up future cap space and traded three players that would not crack Daigneault's rotation for the potential of a playoff booster.

While the fun factor is heavily tilted to Charlotte's side in the evaluation, the actual basketball grading scale makes this trade a wash. Both ends come out with something to show for the switch at the deadline.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.