Mock Trade: Thunder Strike Deal with Grizzlies

Just days away from the NBA trade deadline, the Thunder and Grizzlies could look to make a deal.

The NBA trade deadline is just two days away, meaning teams around the league will be active and looking at make moves. One team that could look to improve their roster is the Memphis Grizzlies, with the Oklahoma City Thunder being a team that could help with that.

The Grizzlies are one of the emerging teams in the NBA, climbing all the way up to the third seed in the Western Conference despite being a young team. With a record of 37-18, they’ve actually got a top-three record in the league.

However, teams can never have too much talent heading into the postseason where every minute counts.

With a need to improve wing depth, Memphis likely won’t make a huge splash at the deadline, but could look to make an underrated move to acquire someone at the forward position.

This is where the Thunder could step in and help. Veteran swingman Kenrich Williams is OKC’s most attractive trade chip, emerging as a highly impactful player over the past two seasons.

Alonzo Adams / USA TODAY Sports

What makes Williams even more attractive on the trade market is his contract. Despite being a difference maker on the court, he’s making just $2 million this season and next.

Kenrich Williams is a +23 on the night. pic.twitter.com/veT2pzqN60

— Boomtown Hoops (@BoomtownHoops) February 4, 2021

Williams is also a veteran that’s well respected in his current locker room.

“He may be among his peers, just from my observations, the most respected guy in the locker room,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault last season.

While the Thunder could certainly look to fetch a first rounder for Williams this week, perhaps they’d be more interested in a prospect to explore with how much draft capital they already have. The Grizzlies have a former lottery pick in Jarrett Culver that could potentially thrive in Oklahoma City.

Culver was selected with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, but has struggled early in his career. He’s a guy that struggles with his confidence and consistency and has never been a good shooter.

With that in mind, he went in the top-ten for a reason and has flashed the upside of being an impactful player on both ends of the floor, especially defensively. Still just 22 years old, he could be an interesting player for the Thunder to throw into the rotation to see how he performs the remainder of the season.

For Memphis, Williams would easily raise the ceiling of the team, as he currently averages better than seven points and four rebounds per contest while knocking down 36.9% of his 3-point attempts. At 6-foot-6, the versatile wing makes winning plays and is still fairly young at 27 years old.

Petre Thomas / USA TODAY Sports

Williams’ fit in Memphis would be seamless. He fits the tough style of play that the Grizzlies have always boasted and doesn’t need to have the ball in his hands to make an impact.

For the Thunder, even if Culver doesn’t work out, its another opportunity to at least explore a former lottery pick. As such, they’d likely need additional draft compensation. A future second rounder that projects to be in the first half of that round could be intriguing enough to take a risk on Culver.

Oklahoma City’s offer: Kenrich Wiliams for Jarrett Culver and a quality future second rounder

---

Want to join the discussion? Like SI 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.