The Oklahoma City Thunder have dominated their way through the NBA season thus far and are currently one of the championship favorites.
Oklahoma City currently sits at the top of the Western Conference standings with a 53-12 record.
Of course, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has led the way for the Thunder this season as he is one of the frontrunners to win the MVP award this season, but the rest of Oklahoma City's roster has also been great.
Because of this, the Thunder are a true championship contender this season, but they could also make their roster even better in the offseason thanks to their boatload of future draft capital.
Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz recently proposed a trade that would see the Thunder use some of their draft picks to land Lauri Markkanen from the Utah Jazz in the offseason.
Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen brings the ball upcourt against the San Antonio Spurs at Delta Center on March 27, 2024. Rob Gray-Imagn Images Rob Gray-Imagn Images
In the trade, Swartz has Markkanen heading to Oklahoma City in exchange for Nikola Topic, Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggin, Kenrich Williams, Ousmane Dieng and two first-round picks.
"Adding Markkanen to a core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace and others doesn't seem fair for the rest of the NBA, but this is precisely the kind of move the asset-rich Thunder can afford to make," Swartz wrote.
Of course, the Thunder would be giving up a ton in this trade, but like Swartz said, Markkanen would make their team almost unfair for the rest of the league.
Markkanen would provide the Thunder with more size inside next to Holmgren and would also allow Hartenstein to come off the bench as the backup center.
The star forward would also give the team a better second option outside of Shai and would also allow Williams and Holmgren to get more open looks with the defense having to close out on Markkanen due to his shooting touch.
While it would be a massive package for the Thunder to acquire Markkanen, it may be well worth it thanks to Markkanen possibly helping turn the team into a dynasty.
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This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 5:00 AM.