While they didn't make it as far in the NBA Playoffs as they hoped they would, the Oklahoma City Thunder had a successful season. They were the top-seed in the Western Conference and managed to get to the second-round of the postseason despite being a generally young team.
Thunder GM Sam Presti, who's not afraid to make trades, only made minor moves at the deadline – adding veteran Gordon Hayward from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Tre Mann, Davis Bertans, Vasilije Micic and two second-round picks.
The other deal the Thunder made was sending the second-worst of their four 2024 first-round picks to the Mavericks for a 2028 first-round pick swap.
Presti spoke on Tuesday about why he didn't make more deadline moves, per Andrew Schlecht of The Athletic:
‘”We have a really good base to work with' Presti about what he learned about the team in the Playoffs. Added that if they added a high level player over the last couple seasons they wouldn't have been able to discover what they did about their roster”
Schlecht also adds, “Presti talking about the trade deadline, he mentioned that this iteration of the Thunder could be tough to add to mid season”
This makes some sense. As a still very young team, the Thunder are seemingly ahead of schedule with their success. Watching the team breakout earlier than expected, it makes some sense for Presti to see exactly what he has on the roster before looking to tweak things around the margins.
Presti alluded to that fact when he said, “I didn't want to disrupt that learning process.”
While the trade for Hayward didn't work out, the Thunder still feature MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, emerging star Jalen Williams, and rookie sensation Chet Holmgren – not to mention other solid pieces like Lu Dort and a quantity of future first-round draft picks that would make any other NBA GM jealous.
It's true that the Thunder could have used another piece in order to make a deeper playoff run, but they're just getting started.
Thunder eliminated by Mavericks in second round
The Thunder fought valiantly but were eliminated by the Mavericks in six games in their second-round NBA Playoffs series.
Luka Doncic and his Dallas crew trailed the Thunder by as much as 17 points, but they were able to claw their way back thanks to some timely shooting and solid rebounding. They controlled the rebound throughout, but it made a ton of difference particularly in the second half.
Despite the loss, the Thunder can head to the offseason with plenty to look forward to in the future. They might need to make some key additions to address the shortcomings they showed in the 2024 playoffs, but they are certainly in the right path to becoming an NBA powerhouse.
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