The Toronto Raptors were expected to compete for a championship this season, while the Oklahoma City Thunder were selling off any warm body that had any trade value in the name of getting some extra draft capital for the future. Despite those two differing directives, it’s Mark Daigneault and the Thunder who have the better record this season.
The Thunder are still trying to build for the future, as they netted some more draft picks by trading Trevor Ariza to the Miami Heat. Knowing that getting free agents to come to Oklahoma City is difficult, Sam Presti is trying to get as many spins at the lottery wheel as possible.
Oklahoma City has an astonishing 17 first-round picks in the next seven years, in addition to an extra 15 second-round picks. The Thunder are averaging just under five selections per draft over the next seven years, a number that boggles the mind.
The Thunder are not going to roster that many top picks on one roster. It’s simply not feasible to bring that many cooks into the kitchen. If they want to ditch a bunch of them in exchange for a star at either the deadline or during the offseason, the Raptors might be able to build a future dynasty on the back of those picks.
The Thunder could gift the Toronto Raptors multiple top picks
The Thunder have two completely above-average players on their roster right now. Al Horford is a veteran leader that gets this team near the salary floor, while combo guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been putting up All-Star numbers. Outside of those two, and potential Canadian Lu Dort, no one else is a confirmed long-term piece.
Even if the Thunder refuse to give the Raptors some picks this deadline, which could help them land a player like Norman Powell, Masai Ujiri should keep tabs on them in the offseason.
The Thunder could trade away 12 picks over the next seven seasons and still have multiple picks in every round of the next seven drafts. It’s impossible to make an entire roster out of first-round picks. With the Thunder likely to turn around and start buying, soon, the Raptors could kick-start their own rebuild by swallowing up all of Oklahoma City’s draft assets.
Presti will try to get Gilgeous-Alexander some help this offseason, and Toronto has enough interesting pieces to get OKC interested. The return could help the Raptors build yet another sustainable winner off of these hypothetical trades.