Mock Trade: OKC Thunder Land Perfect Wing Option Amid Brooklyn Rebuild

As the 2024 NBA offseason looms, the speculation, rumors, predictions, previews and mock trades ramp up. The Oklahoma City Thunder will find themselves in the middle of it all as a 57-win team viewed as championship contenders with top five in the league cap space, plenty of draft assets and roster flexibility - it is a recipe for the Thunder to be linked to almost every available player.

While many want top executive Sam Presti to be aggressive this summer in bolstering this roster, Bleacher Report put together ten blockbuster trades with the OKC Thunder headlining as a trade partner with the Brooklyn Nets.

No one can truly figure out which direction the Nets are taking with a possible rebuild on the horizon they continue to leak reports that they are content holding onto coveted forward Mikal Bridges.

However, Bleacher Report cooked up a possible swap with Oklahoma City seeing the Thunder send Ousmane Dieng, Kenrich Williams, Josh Giddey, Pick No. 12 in the 2024 NBA Draft, a lottery-protected 2025 first-round pick (via Miami) and a 2028 first-round pick (via Dallas) to Brooklyn for Bridges.

A total of three first-round picks, a swing-high chance on Dieng, a quality NBA veteran and an instant impact guard is quite the haul for Bridges who is owed $23.3 Million and $24.9 Million each of the next two seasons before hitting the unrestricted free agent market at age 30 ahead of the 2026-27 season.

This would allow the Thunder to maximize the use of their salary space before having extensions to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams kick in. Ultimately the sticker shock on the trade might trip people up but as you peel back the layers the Thunder could gain more than they lose.

While Oklahoma City has poured a lot into the development of Dieng - and he has vastly improved - the 21-year-old is no sure thing. Giddey is clearly a talented player who can not fully maximize his skillset in Bricktown and Williams perplexingly fell out of Mark Daigneault's rotation as the 2023-24 campaign deepened.

The No. 12 pick in the current year's draft likely does not come close to Bridges' projection not only this year but in the future and giving away the lottery-protected Miami pick and Dallas selection still hardly puts a dent in the mountain of assets the Thunder have acquired.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma City boasts one of the best starting lineups in the NBA with Gilgeous-Alexander-Lu Dort-Jalen Williams-Bridges-Holmgren striking fear in opponents. Oklahoma City would do this while sacrificing little depth still having Cason Wallace, Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins, and Jaylin Williams with room to flush out the rest of their rotation as the summer progressed.

Bridges is the ultimate 3-and-D player with more of an ability to play off the catch and put defenses in a bind than the Thunder's top-five offense has previously seen.

No matter if it is too large of a sum for the Thunder to pay or the Nets not wanting to part with Bridges yet, this trade does not seem all too likely. However, it is fun to dream up ahead of the NBA offseason. If the five-year pro does hit the trade market, few could offer the level of package Oklahoma City can.

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