The Oklahoma City Thunder appear to be on the path of rapid ascent. They entered the 2022-23 season to little fanfare, as pundits expected more of the same from them — 20+ wins, yet another lost season in the hopes of entering the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes. But here they are, in May 2023, having arrived ahead of schedule after a season which saw them come a win away from making the 2023 NBA playoffs.
The Thunder's development into one of the more exciting teams in the NBA has mostly been due to the development of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as one of the best players in the entire association. Gilgeous-Alexander won first team All-NBA honors, which, at 24 years old, is no mean feat.
Meanwhile, other young prospects, such as Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams, began to come into their own to end the season, while Chet Holmgren, the second pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, should make his debut soon.
Some of the pieces for a future contending iteration of the Thunder are definitely in place. Thus, why not take advantage of this by dangling the 12th pick of the 2023 NBA Draft for a player who fits their timeline — someone who can grow alongside the current core led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Or perhaps the Thunder decide to trade up if they believe that the prospect that would help them out the most won't be available when it's their turn to select — which is what the OKC front office is likely to try and pull off, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic.
Whatever the case may be, here are the two best trades the Thunder could make using the 12th overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft.
Thunder trade #12, 2024 LAC first-round pick, 2025 MIA first-round pick, and 2026 HOU first-round pick to the Detroit Pistons for #5 and Isaiah Stewart
Trading up is always a tricky endeavor, and an especially difficult one to gauge as someone who writes about hypothetical trades. It all depends on leverage, and draft day trade leverage usually comes from knowing that a team is desperate to pick a certain player. It's unclear if the Thunder have that desperation to move up, especially when they made the most out of the 12th pick in 2022 when they chose Jalen Williams.
Williams has become a future star, scoring at an extremely efficient clip at such a young age while showing promise as a tough to dislodge defender at the point of attack. Thus, the Thunder could very well try and hit on another pick at number 12.
Nevertheless, trading up should give them options, especially when their future first-round pick cupboard is full. In 2024 and 2025, the Thunder would have eight first-round picks; thus, packaging them for a much better pick could be the wisest use of resources, especially when they may not have enough room on the roster to fit them all.
The Pistons, after coming out of the lottery as the biggest loser, may be willing to trade down so they could stock up on more assets. Given the interchangeability of where certain prospects may land in the lottery, the Pistons could talk themselves into drafting a player of similar impact despite going down seven spots, while receiving three additional first-rounders in the process.
In this scenario, the Thunder will be acquiring Isaiah Stewart as well for additional frontcourt depth; the Pistons shouldn't have many qualms about that given the glut of big men on their roster.
Jazz get their picks back, trade away #9 to OKC for #12, 2024 UTA first-round pick, and 2028 UTA second-round pick
The Thunder, again, could always stand pat with the 12th pick. But given their draft pick surplus, it behooves them to at least try and acquire a better draft pick. And the Jazz could be a willing trade partner.
With the Jazz in the middle of a rebuild, they will want to secure the rights to their first-round pick for next season. Sure, it is top-10 protected, but given the presence of Lauri Markkanen, there's a strong chance the pick lands outside that range. Thus, trading down for it should help erase a bit of risk as they look to fill out their roster with more talented prospects.
For the Thunder, the difference between the ninth and 12th overall picks may not be too consequential. It certainly depends on the players left on the board at this point. But if Jarace Walker is available at nine (which, according to the ClutchPoints' latest 2023 NBA mock draft projects, he should be), then the Thunder may very well find it worth their while to trade up, especially when Walker projects to be such a solid fit alongside their young core.
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