The Oklahoma City Thunder have set themselves up for the future with a ton of draft capital. But the lottery gods didn't smile upon them on the NBA Draft Lottery night, as they wound up with just one lottery pick, the 6th overall selection in the upcoming draft.
This has sparked some discussions on how it all affects the Thunder's plans going forward. On Brian Windhorst's The Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN's Tim Bontemps made the case for why OKC might consider moving their prized guard – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“I'm going to watch the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander situation. All their guys are basically 18 years old and then they've got Shai, and now they've traded for Kemba Walker, they're clearly still in asset accumulation mode. All their guys are super young. This team doesn't look like it's going to be ready to be competitive in the near term.”
While the insiders seemed to just be talking out of pocket and there's no legitimate trade buzz surrounding the Thunder star, that didn't stop fans and Thunder reporters alike from dusting off their virtual pitchforks and voicing their gripes online.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a player you rebuild your franchise around. He isn’t a player you trade away for a draft pick so that if you’re lucky you can hopefully draft a player like… Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) June 25, 2021
THERE IS NO SHAI TRADE RUMOR
IT IS SPECULATION BETWEEN TWO DUDES ON A PODCAST
PLEASE LOG OFF AND TOUCH GRASS
— David Brandon (@birdrightsnba) June 25, 2021
Bro if the Thunder trade fucking Shai lmfao https://t.co/P3PuKGj39O
— Mark Williams fan account (@BALLSOHARD_Josh) June 25, 2021
I’m not sure exactly where all the Shai trade rumors are coming from, but he’s not getting traded. He fits the #Thunder timeline perfectly, and should be (and is) the franchise cornerstone https://t.co/Nf0KQ79gA0
— Finn (@thebenchmobblog) June 25, 2021
My god. If they trade shai I'm going to be devastated, like i could see them not thinking he's like a #1 guy or whatever but damn. Even if we got cade i Think I'd still be sad we lost shai.
— Kaleb (@kj9448) June 25, 2021
If OKC trades Shai, they should immediately have the franchise stripped from them. He IS the timeline in OKC.
— Bryson Gordon (@BrysonGordon) June 25, 2021
SGA is entering his fourth season in the NBA thus far. The Thunder star has been absolutely stellar for OKC, putting up 23.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per contest through 35 games last season. Even more impressive was his efficiency, shooting over 50% from the field and north of 40% from the three-point line.
He's also just 22 years old. To say that a player that's just as old as a fresh college graduate might be too old for your timeline seems downright absurd. Add to that the fact that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has already shown flashes of being an All-Star player for the Thunder, and also currently serves as the face of the franchise.
OKC may have a wealth of draft picks to identify and acquire talent for their future, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the leader that will bridge their present to that future.
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