Could Final Stretch Before Deadline Impact OKC Thunder's Trade Plans?

The trade deadline is just around the corner, and the Thunder could be influenced by what they see on the floor in the final days before.

Oklahoma City has been the best team in the league again this season, but there are certainly more cracks in its regular season performance than there were in 2024-25. As injuries have hit the Thunder harder than any other year in this era, they’ve had to pivot and rely on some unconventional rotations throughout the season.

While having Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the floor almost every game has certainly made Mark Daigneault’s job much easier, finding the perfect fit with an often imperfect rotation has been challenging. Going into Thursday’s trade deadline, the Thunder are still hit hard by the injury bug.

While the injury report for Tuesday night’s game against the Orlando Magic is lengthier than usual, the continued absences of Ajay Mitchell and Jalen Williams make for some tough matchups. This contest against the Magic is one of the final two before the trade deadline, followed by a Wednesday night matchup in San Antonio to cap the season series against the Spurs.

This final stretch before the deadline on Thursday might have enough of an impact to sway Sam Presti’s plans as far as a midseason shakeup is concerned. While these games alone won’t singlehandedly sway the Thunder’s front office in one direction or another, it could be the final nail in the coffin for any decision.

While Oklahoma City was mostly dominated wire-to-wire in a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves last week, it was able to find that type of dominance itself in Sunday’s wire-to-wire win at Denver. Although the Thunder were dominant and found real success beyond the arc, a key theme in that matchup come May could be the outside shooting, and the Nuggets, who lead the league in 3-point percentage, might be the best bet to consistently shoot well in the postseason.

Perhaps that thinking prompts a move for more shooting, or it might have shown that when the Thunder can generate enough open looks, they can compete from beyond the arc with elite shooting teams like Denver or make up for that in other areas, such as defense and rebounding.

While Tuesday’s matchup against Orlando might not sway the Thunder much, one final matchup against the Spurs less than 24 hours before the deadline might be enough to make any last-second decisions. That Spurs matchup could be particularly helpful in seeing how Oklahoma City matches up from a ball-handling standpoint beyond Gilgeous-Alexander if Mitchell and Williams remain out.

The possibilities are endless for the Thunder going into the deadline with their abundance of assets. However, it might not mean any substantial moves will happen, especially if Oklahoma City sees desirable results in the final days before the deadline.