The OKC Thunder Become Title Favorites With This Trade
The buttons on the trade machine are blinking colors, and the machine is starting up. This trade between the OKC Thunder and Utah Jazz sees them swap key players in a win-win scenario. The OKC Thunder become title favorites with this trade, while the Utah Jazz get to go all-in on their rebuild, helping them assemble a core around the same timeline.
The OKC Thunder Become Title Favorites With This Trade
They just had their first postseason run since the 2019-20 season end in a six-game series loss to the Dallas Mavericks. It’s a series that the Thunder will feel they could have won. They had a few unlucky rebounds that they couldn’t snatch and a few shots that just wouldn’t go in. There’s a silver lining to such a devastating exit. They can actually resolve these issues this off-season. And there’s an obvious trade waiting to happen that solves all of these issues.
The Trade Details
The OKC Thunder will get Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton from the Utah Jazz. The Jazz will get Josh Giddey, four first-round picks, a pick swap, and two second-round picks. The OKC Thunder will be taking on $36.1 million in cap hit for the 2024-25 season by adding Markkanen and Sexton. The Utah Jazz will be cutting $27.8 million in salary as Josh Giddey is in the final year of his rookie contract.
What the Deal Does for the Jazz
Lauri Markkanen is in the final year of the four-year, $67.47 million contract extension he signed with the Chicago Bulls back in 2021. In the summer of 2025, he can become an unrestricted free agent. He was an All-Star in 2023, so he could get up to five years and $250 million in free agency.
That number doesn’t make sense for a Jazz team still a long way from contending. The better option will be to bottom out and try to get the first pick in the 2025 draft. Cooper Flagg is the consensus first pick right now, and he has the potential to be a franchise-altering talent. Markkanen is entering the prime of his career, and he’s a really good player, but he’s probably not a franchise cornerstone on a title-contending team. Furthermore, the Jazz have set the asking price high for Markkanen and OKC could blow them away with a godfather offer.
The Utah Jazz will be getting the 21-year-old Josh Giddey, who is a versatile point-forward. Combined with young talent, he raises the floor of the Jazz in the future. All signs seem to suggest that he’s on his way out of the Thunder after his underwhelming playoff performance. He managed only 18.1 minutes during the playoffs and saw that number go down to 11.8 during the Dallas series. Defenders were staying four feet off him last year, since his value as a floor spacer is minimal. That is his major weakness. His strength is his ability to create for himself and others. On the Utah Jazz, there’s a clear need for this skill on their roster.
Markkanen’s Role With the OKC Thunder
This deal solves so many issues for them, it’s a no-brainer. Firstly, the Thunder ranked 27th in rebounding during the regular season. During their series against the Dallas Mavericks, the Mavs got 20 more rebounds than them. That advantage was key for the Mavs in the sixth game, where they out-rebounded OKC 47-31 as they staged a second-half comeback. Markkanen averaged 8.2 this past season and 8.6 rebounds the year before. At 7’0″ and 240 lbs, he provides a big body to pair alongside Chet Holmgren and Jaylin Williams in the post. That length will be huge for them in the West, which is increasingly adopting a big-ball approach. The Thunder struggled against the Mavs’ length during their series. Markkanen helps solve many of those issues.
He’s a knockdown three-point shooter, averaging about .399 last year from deep on 8.0 attempts. For his career, he’s averaging .375, so his time in Utah isn’t an outlier. OKC had to rely on Lu Dort to space the floor for them. His three-point attempts went up from four and five in games one and two to eight per game during the final four games. His efficiency didn’t go up with his volume, making more than two threes just once during the series (three in game four). Markkanen would be a better option for those shots because not only can he shoot over most defenders, but he will have room to shoot or drive off the closeout due to the defense-warping ability Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has.
