Come the conclusion of the 2025-26 campaign, the OKC Thunder are all but certain to part ways with 2022 lottery pick Ousmane Dieng, as the forward's rookie-scale deal is officially set to come off the books.
However, Yahoo Sports' Tom Haberstroh believes Sam Presti and company should strongly consider moving on from the former first-round pick sooner than July, and proposed a specific deal with the Chicago Bulls that might tickle their fancy ahead of Thursday's trade deadline.
OKC Thunder receive : Coby White
Chicago Bulls receive: Ousmane Dieng, 2026 first-round pick (via PHI)
Thunder could add guard depth in no-brainer Ousmane Dieng trade idea
The Thunder and Bulls already have an established relationship with one another following the 2024 swap that led Alex Caruso to the Sooner State and Josh Giddey out to the Windy City.
At this point, the exchange seems to have been a fair, win-win move for all parties involved.
Now, two seasons removed from their initial trade, Haberstroh suggests that the two clubs could benefit from reacquainting themselves ahead of February 5.
Coby White is someone who has been tabbed as an ideal Thunder target for quite some time now, and for good reason.
Here in his third season in the association, the point guard is dropping sensational averages of 18.5 points, 4.8 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting 35.0 percent from distance and boasting a highly efficient 60.9 effective field goal percentage on catch-and-shoot attempts.
His microwave scoring skills, coupled with his reliable ball-handling and off-ball work, could prove to be a true gem for Oklahoma City's second unit for the remainder of the regular season and throughout their hopeful repeat title run come playoff time.
On top of this, considering he's on an expiring contract, his arrival wouldn't have any impact on the team's already inflated salary in 2026-27 and beyond.
As for the Bulls, the acquisition of Dieng would essentially serve as a mere roster spot replacement for the departed White.
The real incentive of this exchange would be the arrival of the rights to Philadelphia's pick in this upcoming June's NBA Draft, for, per Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic, Chicago has "struggled in early attempts to net a first-round pick" for the 25-year-old's services.
Considering OKC has more picks than they even know what to do with, it seems that the Thunder and Bulls may once again be a perfect match for a trade, and this proposal by Haberstroh seems to be a no-brainer move worth considering.