The Oklahoma City Thunder will enter the Feb. 8 trade deadline as buyers for the first time in several years.
Sitting at 26-11 and tied for first place in the Western Conference standings, the Thunder have broken open a contending window led by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams help round out one of the league’s best trios.
While a blockbuster in-season move is unlikely to happen, Thunder general manager Sam Presti has enough draft capital and young players to improve the roster on the margins.
If OKC elects to improve its depth, it’ll need to part ways with players on its roster. Let’s look at three of the most likely candidates on the Thunder who could be moved to upgrade their rotation in preparation for their first playoff run since 2020.
Aleksej Pokusevski
Being in the final year of his rookie deal, Pokusevski’s time with the Thunder likely nears its end. The 22-year-old has appeared in just seven games this season and has been consistently an inactive player for most of the season.
It’s evident Pokusevski won’t be on this team past this season and OKC has no real motivation to pursue a contract extension since he’s outside of the rotation. He’ll enter restricted free agency and could be included in any potential deal to make the finances work with his expiring $5 million salary.
Perhaps he can get a two-month tryout with another team as one last chance to impress enough to garner a second NBA deal.
Tre Mann
Like Pokusevski, Mann is in the same boat as someone who likely won’t be on the Thunder past this season. The 22-year-old is buried on the depth chart behind several other guards.
In his third season, Mann is averaging a career-low in minutes. He’s only appeared in 13 games with most being during garbage time. Despite that, Mann has played well in his limited time.
It won’t happen in OKC, but Mann can still carve out a role in the NBA as a scoring guard off the bench. He is currently owed $8.1 million over these next two seasons on his rookie deal, so he’s worth a shot for other teams with not as much depth.
Davis Bertans
After being attached to the Cason Wallace draft trade, Bertans has sparingly played for the Thunder this season. The 31-year-old has appeared in 12 games for a career-low 6.9 minutes.
A recent contract restructure has Bertans set to make $22.3 million over these next two seasons. His $17 million salary this season is OKC’s easiest salary to move to make a large move work.
If the Thunder plan on acquiring anybody worthwhile, Bertans will likely be included in the deal to make the finances work.
