OKC Thunder NBA Trade Deadline Primer

Thursday marks the NBA trade deadline, as the entire league looks to put some of the finishing touches on their roster before the season's home stretch. The Oklahoma City Thunder (35-16) are in a great position to improve their squad before the 2 p.m. local time deadline.

Between a mountain of draft picks, matching salaries and a team good enough to compete, the Oklahoma City Thunder could see a lot of activity today.

Team Needs

The Oklahoma City Thunder have a glaring need for some size. While they do not want to go overboard in this category, as the goal is still to play a versatile push the pace style of basketball, adding someone who can set the tone of the glass would not be the worst thing for the Thunder.

Given the cost of doing business, the assets they have at their disposal, and the fact they wouldn't even be forced to play said acquisition heavy minutes, it would make sense to grab a more traditional big man than is currently on their roster.

Shooting and bench scoring are other needs for Oklahoma City that can be wrapped into one player, with a lot of these trade targets floating around the market. If the Thunder can round out their rotation to avoid offensive dry spells, it takes their ability to contend in the West to the next level.

With the number of assets he controls, Sam Presti has a massive advantage in the NBA trade market. The currency of the NBA Trade Deadline is typically second-round picks, and Presti has up to 20 available to trade today.

Given the number of players who do not factor into Mark Daigneault's rotation, the salary they make up, and the name-your-price pick package, it would be surprising to see Oklahoma City get outbid for any reasonable deal.

Potential Trade Pieces

Aleksej Pokusevski
Davis Bertans
Tre Mann
Picks

Trade Targets:

Oklahoma City, Sam Presti Could Again Reinforce Future Assets Before Trade Deadline

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