Report: OKC Thunder Potentially Targeting Veteran Big at the Trade Deadline
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The NBA Trade Deadline is right around the corner. In less than a week, chess pieces will be moved across the board to strengthen the cases of NBA contenders.
With a 33-15 record, the Oklahoma City Thunder look like one of the best teams in the NBA this season. Despite being the second youngest team in the league, there has been a clamor for the Thunder to improve this team to help propel them further into the postseason.
A glaring weakness for the Thunder has been their lack of size, which impacts their ability to clean the glass and, at times, gets them into a bind defensively against bigger teams, letting up easy second-chance points.
However, it also plays into Oklahoma City's hands with their ability to push the pace in transition and create chaos in the passing lanes due to their versatility and length. OKC is third in the NBA in steals and fifth in turnovers forced per game.
Still, grabbing a veteran big man at the deadline would at least give Mark Daigneault an additional wrinkle to throw at teams. In the postseason, the game changes, and you might need a payoff pitch when you can not blow them away with your fastball.
"I think everyone thinks the Thunder are in the market to use all their draft picks to go get a high-name, high-end player. I don't think the Thunder's Trade Deadline priority is getting a top-tier player. I think they want to see this core...They are deep, now the one thing they could use is size. I have heard that they are a team that will at least look into veteran big-man play. Now, who that is? We will see." NBA Insider Shams Charania told Kenny Beecham on The Kenny Beecham Podcast.
Improving this team on the margin seems like the right call for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who still want to see their complement of young talent face their first postseason series head-on.
Though, with Davis Bertans' $17 million, the most extensive compilation of trade deadline currency (second-round picks), and a few fliers in Aleksej Pokusevski and Tre Mann, grabbing a veteran big man should not be hard to do for Sam Presti.
Last season, Presti made a similar move that was overlooked at the deadline but paid dividends during the remainder of the season—shipping off Darius Bazley and Mike Muscala in exchange for second-round picks and Dario Saric, who served as an upgrade to both players.
Giving Mark Daigneault more tools in his toolbox would be a great idea for the Thunder, who could afford to ship out second-round picks even more a spot-minute player without thinking twice.
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