The Oklahoma City Thunder are an up-and-coming team. They feature plenty of potential with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the charge. Chet Holmgren will finally make his NBA regular season debut as well during the 2023-24 season. Competing in the talented Western Conference will still prove to be difficult though. Trading for another star would help the Thunder, however.

Without further ado, let's take a look at one trade the Thunder must target ahead of the 2023-24 season.

Thunder trade for Lauri Markkanen

Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz has emerged as a star. He is one of the better forwards in the league and offers versatility on the court. At just 26-years old, Markkanen is another player whom the Thunder could build around via a trade.

Oklahoma City's roster could use Markkanen as well. Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey headline the backcourt. Holmgren and Jalen Williams are the primary duo in the frontcourt. Williams could run the three and Markkanen could play down low alongside Holmgren if a Thunder-Jazz trade were to come to fruition.

Markkanen's rising NBA career

Markkanen always featured the potential to become a key player in the NBA but struggled to find consistency early in his career. He debuted during the 2017-18 season with the Chicago Bulls, ultimately appearing in 68 games. Markkanen averaged 15.2 points per game on 43.4 percent field goal and 36.2 percent three-point shooting.

He'd average 18.7 points per contest in 2018-19, but played in only 52 games. Markkanen then appeared in just 50 games in 2019-20 and 51 games in 2020-21. He continued to display flashes of stardom during that span, but it never came to fruition for him in Chicago.

Lauri Markkanen ended up joining the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2021-22 campaign. He'd enjoy a decent, albeit unspectacular season with the Cavs. Finally, in 2022-23 everything came together for the superstar. If the Thunder trade for him, they would hope he could replicate his performance with Utah this past season.

With the Jazz, Markkanen exploded onto the scene and averaged 25.6 points per game on 49.9 percent field goal and 39.1 percent three-point shooting. He added 8.6 rebounds per game as well.

Although he has only had one year of true stardom, it's difficult to refute his ability.

Thunder-Jazz trade

The Thunder have the benefit of featuring plenty of draft pick capital for years to come. Oklahoma City could build a trade offer around first round picks. It may take two-three first rounders to realistically complete a trade for Markkanen given his age. If the Thunder could add three draft picks along with two-three players, perhaps a veteran or two for salary reasons, then this deal has a chance of becoming a reality.

But why would Utah make a trade like this? After all, Markkanen is a player who they could build around for years to come.

It all boils down to what the Thunder can offer. Given their plentiful amount of top draft picks, Utah would be able to speed up their rebuild by completing this deal.

On the other hand, however, would possibly overpaying for Markkanen make sense for OKC?

The Thunder are on the verge of becoming a legitimate contender in the West. They are at least one piece away from doing so, however. As a result, adding Markkanen would instantly make them a potential contender in the conference. Now is the time to go all in for this OKC team.