OKC Thunder's 2014 Trade Deadline Shopping List
The trade deadline is approaching, so the Oklahoma City Thunder should go out and make a move to cement their status as Western Conference favorites, right?
Wrong!
General manager Sam Presti has to be ecstatic about the state of his team right now, but that doesnโt mean there arenโt areas in need of improvement. To that end, here are the Thunderโs biggest needs as the trade clock ticks down to double zeroes.
Before we get to the needs, let me just preface by making it absolutely clear that the Thunder donโt need to make a move. OKC is the best team in the conference and theyโve only had Russell Westbrookโs services for 25 games.
Kevin Durant is carrying this team like we never thought was possible, and everybody else is picking up the slack. But if the Thunder are serious about winning the championship, here are the two things they could stand to add: Three-point shooting and low-post defense.
Three-Point Shooting
This will always be a need on a team with two devastating isolation scorers. Excellent three-point shooting prevents teams from double-teaming the Thunderous duo (Durant and Westbrook) and creates the floor spacing that opens up driving lanes.
The Thunder have been fine beyond the arc and rank 15th in the league while shooting at a 35.4 percent clip.
But that can be improved.
When OKC rolled into South Beach and punked the Miami Heat, it was largely due to the three-point heroics of Jeremy Lamb and Derek Fisher who combined for 33 points (27 of which came from beyond the arc).
Itโs all well and good that the Thunder demolished the Heat, but that kind of shooting performance isnโt going to happen very often.
| Kevin Durant | 41.7% |
| Jeremy Lamb | 35.4% |
| Reggie Jackson | 32.2% |
| Thabo Sefolosha | 31.9% |
| Russell Westbrook | 30.9% |
| Derek Fisher | 37.2% |
| Perry Jones | 34.3% |
| Serge Ibaka | 35.1% |
Jeremy Lamb has started to cool down from his hot start to the season, and Durant is the only player on the roster shooting higher than 40 percent from downtown.
OKC is especially hurt by the dreadful shooting of Thabo Sefolosha, who was actually shooting better than 40 percent in his last two seasons. The reasons for his extended cold streak are unclear (perhaps the absence of shot-creator extraordinaire Russell Westbrook?), but it hurts the team if the best perimeter defender canโt buy a bucket from deep.
Inside Presence
The Thunder donโt have elite size, and thatโs alright. For now.
They have the requisite size to make it through the Western Conference, even against a bigger team like the Memphis Grizzlies.
But what happens if they make it through the playoffs and itโs not the Miami Heat waiting for them in the NBA Finals, but the Indiana Pacers?
Sure, the Thunder dispatched the Pacers with ease when they met earlier this season, but Indiana was playing a back-to-back and that game was their fifth road game in seven days.
Does OKC have enough physicality to match up with the Pacers' bruising frontcourt of Roy Hibbert, David West, Luis Scola and Andrew Bynum?
We donโt quite know, but it wouldnโt hurt to add another big body not named Hasheem Thabeet.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, while it would be nice to fill the aforementioned roles, who or what can the Thunder afford to trade? Every piece of the rotation is clicking on all cylinders at the moment, and it wouldnโt be worthwhile to break up that chemistry.
In addition, all the young players (Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lamb, Steven Adams and Perry Jones) have all shown tremendous improvement and potential, so the Thunder should stick to their guns and let them fully develop.
OKC does have (maybe) the first-round pick of the Dallas Mavericks (top-20 protected) to use as a trade chip which could generate some interest.
But given the value of a first-round pick in this yearโs loaded draft class and OKCโs penchant for nailing the draft (and developing talent), the Thunder would be best served to hold on to that pick.
With every falling into place for the Thunder to make a run, they donโt need to make a rushed trade at the deadline. Thereโs no need to shuffle the cards when they have the best hand on the table.ย
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