The future is now for the Oklahoma City Thunder. With a 7-4 record through the first four weeks of the 2023-24 NBA season, Oklahoma City is off to its best start in five years. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has emerged as a legitimate All-NBA star. The Thunder have surrounded him with an intriguing young core that could develop into a powerhouse for many years to come. With the way the team is playing this season, making the playoffs isn't a far-fetched reality for Oklahoma City. However, given how competitive the Western Conference is, that may not be a sure thing. Perhaps a trade can get the Thunder over the top.

The Thunder are one of the league's most interesting situations. Amidst their breakout campaign, Oklahoma City still owns a deep treasure of draft assets that GM Sam Presti amassed during their rebuild. The Thunder could have up to 37 picks up until 2030. Nine to 15 of those could end up as first-round picks, while 21 to 27 could be second-rounders. There are a ton of complicated protections involved with those picks, but the point of the situation is that the Thunder have the chips to go all in if they want to.

What Presti will do with that gold mine is a question no other GM in the league has an answer to. With that said, perhaps the Thunder could finally cash in on some of those picks and trade for a star (or stars) who could make them more competitive now and in the future as well. Here are three potential trade targets for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2023-24 NBA season.

Lauri Markkanen

The Utah Jazz are going nowhere with their current roster and Lauri Markkanen's talents are getting wasted in that losing situation. Oklahoma City should find a way to get the All-Star forward as he would be a perfect fit on this roster. With the Thunder being one of the best three-point shooting teams in the NBA this season, Markkanen's 42.6 percent three-point shooting clip is going to make this offense even deadlier.

OKC could entice Utah with a boatload of draft capital, while attaching Davis Bertans' contract to match salaries.

At 26 years old, Lauri Markkanen is just about to enter his prime years and would give the Thunder another elite scorer with his versatility and ability to put up points from different parts of the floor.

Power forward may be Oklahoma City's most glaring weakness right now given they are mostly playing an undersized Jalen Williams at the four. Markkanen's addition would allow the sophomore to play his more natural position.

The reigning Most Improved Player had a breakout campaign for the Jazz last season. He averaged 25.9 points and 8.6 rebounds while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field. Lauri Markkanen is putting up similar numbers this season —23.9 PPG and 8.6 RPG on 48.1 percent field goal and 42.6 percent three-pointers.

Pascal Siakam

Perhaps the player with the most winning experience out of this bunch, Pascal Siakam would also be an ideal target for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Like Markkanen, Siakam is a versatile all-around scorer and has developed into a solid playmaker from the four spot.

He will be a great fit playing alongside Gilgeous-Alexander and would be a terrific secondary scoring option behind the 30 PPG scorer. Moreover, the Cameroonian brings winning experience to a program that is just learning how to do so. He is an NBA champion and has made multiple playoff appearances throughout his career.

The Thunder may need to give up more players to acquire Pascal Siakam, given his more expensive price tag this season ($37.8 million). But he is on an expiring deal, so maybe Sam Presti could (valiantly attempt to) talk Masai Ujiri into accepting less draft assets for the All-Star forward. Nonetheless, the likely package would have to start with Canadian Luguentz Dort, along with Bertans as salary filler.

Pascal Siakam is off to a rather slow start this season. But he is coming off a career campaign where he averaged 24.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists while carrying the Raptors to a play-in tournament appearance.

Jerami Grant

Jerami Grant is another player who will most likely find himself in the trading block for most of the season. The 29-year-old doesn't match within the Portland Trail Blazers' timeline. So, they could look to move him sooner rather than later, despite just inking him to a monstrous five-year $160 million deal this season. He will make $27.5 million this season.

Grant was initially a defensive specialist to begin his career. But over the last few years, he has evolved into a skilled offensive player. As someone who is capable of scoring 20 points on any given night, Jerami Grant should be solid secondary scoring option behind Gilgeous-Alexander. Moreover, his defensive versatility will help the Thunder improve defensively.

The Thunder won't be able to trade for Jerami Grant until January 15th, as he only becomes trade eligible after that day. Nonetheless, he is still a name they can monitor as the season rolls along.