The Oklahoma City Thunder failing to make the NBA Finals could see them easily trading for a superstar due to all the young assets and future draft picks they hold. One team that makes perfect sense to pull off a trade with the Thunder is the Los Angeles Clippers. Kawhi Leonard is expected to be on the trade block since the Clippers can’t realistically contend for an NBA Championship and have started to prioritize younger assets.
Fadeaway World pitched the following trade package as the most realistic:
“Oklahoma City Thunder Receive: Kawhi Leonard
Los Angeles Clippers Receive: Jalen Williams, Nikola Topic, Kenrich Williams, 2027 First-Round Pick (LAC)
The irony in this trade is that Williams is one of the stars they drafted with a pick the Clippers originally owned, so it’d be interesting to see him return to the Clippers as their potential No. 1 option for the future.”
The Clippers would get three young pieces, including Jalen Williams as the new franchise player to pair with Darius Garland and Bennedict Mathurin as the new core. Oklahoma City would trade one starter and three expendable pieces to get another superstar to pair with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Leonard gets a chance to compete for his third NBA Championship via this trade.
Why This Is The Perfect Thunder Trade
Oklahoma City clearly needs another star on the roster after Williams and Chet Holmgren proved to be unreliable this season. A team with as much depth and as much youth as the Thunder can risk trading one of the more expensive franchise players.
Trading J Dub for Kawhi is a clear upgrade when looking at what both players did this season. Oklahoma City also presents a rare situation where Leonard can sit out games in the regular season due to injury or to preserve his health without having to worry about victories.
The only piece they’d truly regret losing in this trade would be Williams, but they have players like Alex Caruso and Ajay Mitchell on the roster to make up for it. An upgrade in the starting lineup without sacrificing much else makes them a bigger threat against the San Antonio Spurs next season.
Why This Is The Perfect Clippers Trade
The Clippers realized this season that they needed change once James Harden became unhappy and the team seemed unlikely to contend for a title any time soon. Losing both Harden and Ivica Zubac set the stage for the team prioritizing their future.
Oklahoma City specifically has the most valuable asset for the Clippers in a Leonard trade to get back their 2027 first-round draft pick. Both this pick and the past pick that landed Williams from the Thunder to the Clippers in the infamous Paul George trade.
The Clippers get back a young All-Star talent drafted with their pick, control of their own pick next season, and two young talents with higher upside in bigger roles. This trade gives the Clippers a fighting chance to build back young talent and set up a brighter future once they fully move on from the Kawhi era.
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