NBA Mock Trade: Thunder Move Isaiah Hartenstein & Others To Make Room For Former MVP

This NBA mock trade breaks down a move that would send three Oklahoma City Thunder players to an Eastern Conference team, which would bring them a former MVP.

Dec 28, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein runs down the court during a play against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

A star player to the Thunder? Don’t they already have like three? In many eyes, yes, they do. And although the tandem of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jaylen Williams proved to be enough in the 2024-2025 season to win an NBA Championship, the new question is, is it enough this year? 

When the Thunder started the season 24-1, nobody batted an eye at the idea of them making a move. But as of recent, with Oklahoma City having a handful of losses in their last stretch of 15 games, including two coming from a member of the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs, people get impatient. With fans, the frustration is clear, but with the management of the Thunder, who would be the ones to ultimately pull the trigger on a trade, reading their mind with a team that sits first in the West with a record of 33-7 is pretty unknown. 

One name that has floated around on the trade market is Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. His name has been brought up every time the tradeline date has neared for the last few seasons. And while it seems like a long shot for a deal to go down involving the Bucks' superstar, with what happened with Luka Doncic last season with the Dallas Mavericks last trade deadline, nothing can be ruled out of the picture. The Thunder, despite already being loaded with talent, could make room for the former MVP. A lot of that is credit to GM Sam Presti, who has done an unbelievable job at setting up OKC for success now, but long into the future as well.  Here is a look at a mock trade that would be successful if both the Bucks and Thunder agreed.

Oklahoma City Thunder-Milwaukee Bucks NBA Mock Trade

Bucks Receive:

C Isaiah Hartenstein

SG Alex Caruso

SG Aaron Wiggins

2026 First Round Pick (via HOU), 2026 First Round Pick ( via LAC), 2026 First Round Pick (via UTA), 2027 First Round Pick (via SAS), 2028 First Round Pick (via DAL), 2030 First Round Pick (via OKC)

Thunder Receive:

PF Giannis Antetokounmpo 

SF Taurean Prince

SG Amir Coffey

Why the Trade Makes Sense For The Bucks

Dec 31, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Ryan Rollins (13) during the game against the Washington Wizards at Fiserv Forum. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Bucks are currently in that awkward stage of being a decent team, but nowhere near a title contender. A deal thrown in front of them deserves to be worth their time for this caliber of player, and this mock deal, at least, is enticing. It allows them to have a strong start to their rebuild with three players, although not stars, have shown they lead to winning basketball, making this look more like a retooling–Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, and Aaron Wiggins.

Regaining that star power they are losing in Antetkounmpo will certainly be hard to do, and the best place to try to do it is through the draft. This mock trade is suited for that. And although there is a valid argument that Antetkounmpo is worth more than six first-rounders, landing three for the upcoming draft is a big feat. There appears to be star power throughout the lottery of the 2026 NBA Draft, and two of the picks the Bucks acquire in this mock trade are situated to be a ping pong ball in May–the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Clippers. The pick from the Jazz is a top eight protected and in what could be a potential franchise-altering pick, the pick from the Los Angeles Clippers is an unprotected pick.

Why The Trade Makes Sense For The Thunder

Jan 5, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) walks down the court against the Charlotte Hornets during the second half at Paycom Center. | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Yes, the Thunder lose depth in this trade, but the addition of Antetkounmpo will make the loss of these big contributors feel minute. What Antetkounmpo brings both offensively and defensively is not comparable to anything Caruso, Harteinstein, and Wiggins can provide to the Thunder. 

OKC, who are already in a championship window, stabilize this even further, and if everything goes right, they have a chance to be one of the best assembled teams in NBA history. Theoretically, if the deal were to go through, Antetokounmpo would be under contract through the 2026-2027 season with a player option he could pick up in the 2027-2028 season.