The Oklahoma City Thunder may be throwing their hat into the Damian Lillard Portland Trail Blazers trade ring. Although Lillard has made clear his desire to play for the Miami Heat, other teams have also been listed as potential destinations for the disgruntled star, and at least one NBA insider has the Thunder on that list.

“If they’re playing really well, don’t be surprised if they go out and make a run at Lillard,” per Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.

The Thunder are coming off of a relatively surprising 2022-23 campaign in which they narrowly missed out on the NBA Playoffs after a loss in the Play-In round finale. Guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had the best year of his young career, averaging over 30 points per game and earning a spot on the All-NBA first team.

Youngsters Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams also took a step forward a season ago, and the team will now have the services of 2022 draft pick Chet Holmgren, who missed all of last season with injury.

It's hard to imagine exactly why the Thunder would be interested in trading for the 33-year-old Damian Lillard, considering the plethora of young talent they have. Even if everything goes perfectly next year, Oklahoma City likely will not be at the “one star away from a championship” phase of development, and even if they were, Lillard and Gilgeous-Alexander's skillsets share several redundancies (and defensive limitations).

Still, this is the NBA in 2023, and we've come to learn that anything can happen. All things considered, though, Thunder fans probably shouldn't hold their breath.