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Thunder Trade Rumors: Steven Adams, Andre Roberson, Dennis Schroeder Available
June 19, 2019
The Oklahoma City Thunder are aggressively looking to shed some cap space, making some of their top rotation players available in trades.
According to Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated, Steven Adams, Dennis Schroder and Andre Roberson are all on the market, while the team could sweeten any deal by trading away the No. 21 overall pick in Thursday's NBA draft.
The Thunder have had problems with the luxury tax lately and the issue seems to be hampering the squad this offseason as well.
Per Spotrac, the team is currently $16.6 million over the luxury tax threshold, which will lead to a $50.4 million bill.
This is quite a big cost for a team that hasn't made it out of the first round of the playoffs in any of the past three years.
The organization appears determined to hold onto stars Paul George and Russell Westbrook, but they will make over $71 million combined in 2019-20. This means the team will have to deal away its other high-priced stars, even at the expense of the talent on the court.
Adams has been with Oklahoma City for his entire six-year career and has been a staple in the low post thanks to his efficiency on both ends of the court. He finished last season ranked 18th in the entire NBA with 9.1 win shares, per Basketball Reference.
However, he is owed more than $25 million in each of the next two seasons, which could lead to a trade.
Schroder is set to make $15.5 million in each of the next two years, while Roberson has one year and $10.7 million remaining on his deal. While Roberson missed all of last season with a knee injury, each of these players can still provide a lot of value on the court.
A team with a lot of cap space could get a steal with any of them while the Thunder just try to shed cap space.