As the Oklahoma City Thunder settle into the title contender stratosphere, expect them to be discussed more often on a national scale — especially about possible moves to upgrade their roster.
Such is the life of a being in the league’s upper echelon.
A recent example of this happened this past Friday. Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd proposed an outside-the-box trade idea. He boldly suggested the Thunder should ship Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and four first-round picks to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis.
The media personality explained it helps the Thunder improve size and rebounding woes. Davis is one of the best players in the league and would make OKC an instant title favorite.
Meanwhile, the Lakers hit the reset button with new head coach JJ Redick. Williams and Wallace are incredible foundation pieces at the start of a rebuild. LeBron James can help shepherd them in during the twilight stage of his career.
Thunder: receive: Anthony Davis
Lakers receive: Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, 4 First-Round Picks@ColinCowherd explains his blockbuster trade proposal pic.twitter.com/2a8wLDOD3d
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) June 21, 2024
“To me, you can draft and develop and get patted on the back by all these fanboys on Twitter,” Cowherd said. “Or you can make a huge move in Oklahoma City and get for the next four years with AD, SGA and Chet. You can give yourself a shot.”
After listening to Cowherd’s pitch, should the Thunder call up the Lakers and offer this package? No. Absolutely not.
Outside of the logistical holes that can be poked in this trade proposal — one example being OKC only has one draft pick this year, so the Lakers wouldn’t need to demand future picks because of this — this feels like something that can happen in 2k24 than in real life. The Thunder would be bailing the Lakers out of their current situation for no apparent reason.
While Davis would strengthen OKC on a surface level, trading away a 23-year-old projected All-Star wing and a 20-year-old 3-and-D starter on cost-control deals for a one-year rental is a self-inflicting mistake.
Especially for a 31-year-old often-injured Davis who is only under contract for next season at $43.2 million. Sure, he logged 76 games last season, but that’s proven to be more of an outlier than a normality for a multi-time All-Star when examining his full body of work.
This move would chop the Thunder’s championship window severely short for an unnecessary risk. OKC has one of the brightest futures in the league, why ruin that for a possible one-year window?
Odds are, Davis wouldn’t re-sign regardless of postseason success. For as sharp as the Thunder’s front office is, their location is equally damaging to convincing outside players to stay for the long term.
For the Lakers, the deal doesn’t benefit them either. James only has a handful of years left as one of the best players. Wasting away the 39-year-old’s final seasons in a rebuilding situation is illogical. If Los Angeles wants to start from scratch, it’s folly to half-measure it by keeping James.
While this trade idea is a sexy headline, it lacks sense for both sides.