What is OKC Thunder’s ‘Goal’ for the Trade Deadline?

For the last few seasons, Oklahoma City has been a hot trade deadline location. Not much has happened, but many talented players have been tied to the Thunder through the grapevine and media rumblings. Granted, a lot of the chatter stems from Oklahoma City’s overwhelming amount of draft ammo and assets, and probably would’ve been better served in a different situation. Nobody expected the Thunder to explode onto the scene like this.

With much of the draft ammo saved up, and a handful of affordable contracts, is this Oklahoma City’s opportunity to make a big move? It feels unlikely.

Currently, the Thunder sits at No. 1 in the Western Conference by a large margin, controlling a 36-8 overall record. Most of those losses came when the Thunder happened to be dealing with the injury bug. There’s no secret about it — Oklahoma City is arguably the best team in the NBA, especially when healthy.

Truthfully, there’s no move that Oklahoma City needs to make. Sure there are pieces that would provide depth, but anything the Thunder are giving up is a risk. Team chemistry, payroll, and the locker room are important things to keep in mind.

Bleacher Report recently detailed every team’s goal for the deadline, and their description for the Thunder might be spot on. Oklahoma City’s trade deadline approach doesn’t necessarily need to revolve around the current season, but they can use it to prepare for the future.

“OKC's current dominance and trove of future draft picks allows for what could be a much more successful version of the Golden State Warriors' ill-fated two-timelines approach,” Grant Hughes wrote. “The Utah Jazz, in trading three future first-round picks to the Phoenix Suns for an unprotected 2031 first-rounder, offer the example OKC needs to follow.

“Do the Thunder need some center insurance? Maybe another primary playmaker to ease the ball-handling load on second units? A high-volume three-point shooter? Of course those would be nice, but it's very difficult for a team as good as Oklahoma City to get much better. So, why not think about bundling up multiple future firsts and offering them to a desperate team for a shot at one that might be immensely valuable?”

If the price is right, though, there’s definitely wiggle room. Oklahoma City could add valuable front court depth to the end of the bench, potentially another creator, or even another sharpshooter. With the Thunder’s only volume, signature 3-point shooter being Isaiah Joe, there might be more of a shooting need than people would suspect.

Initially, the draft picks could've been used in a godfather trade package that many were excited to see. But Oklahoma City hasn't needed to resort to that. Internal development and hitting on key draft picks has allowed the Thunder to be picky in trades. Because of the way the Thunder operated this offseason and over the course of the rebuild, it could be a relatively quiet deadline.

Outside of a few small moves, though, the Thunder’s goal should absolutely pile up to be good for the long haul. Sam Presti has preached his plan of sustainability, and there’s no reason to believe management would veer off that path now.

Want to join the discussion? Like Thunder on SI 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.