What a wild Free Agency it has been. The NBA has lopsided and the Era of Big – 3 has officially come to an end. But who could have thought, out of all the Free Agency Trades, this was a shocker. Russell Westbrook has been sent to the Houston Rockets from the Oklahoma City Thunder where they end an 11-year-old association with the club. The Rockets send guard Chris Paul, two protected first-round picks (2024 and 2026, both protected Nos. 1-4) and two pick swaps (2021 and 2025) to the Thunder.
The Oklahoma City Thunder look for a complete rebuild where they have already traded Paul George to the LA Clippers in exchange for guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, forward Danilo Gallinari and the Clippers’ first-round draft pick in 2022, 2024 and 2026, along with two first-round choices via Miami (2021 and 2023), and OKC obtained the right to swap first-round picks in 2023 and 2025. The trade of Jerami Grant to the Denver Nuggets in exchange of 2020 1st Round Draft Pick.
The Westbrook trade will eventually see the reunion with former OKC Thunder Shooting Guard, James Harden where he is a certified star in Houston and has already won an MVP with the Rockets. Both of them along with had a wild run with the Thunder where the trio took the Thunder to the 2011 – 12 NBA Finals were to eventually lose out against the Dwyane Wade led Miami Heat.
Paul George trade to the Clippers had an eventual influence of Kawhi Leonard where he did not join the Lakers and potentially forming a Big 3 along with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Westbrook has been the face and the pillar of the organization for a decade now. Since Kevin Durant left for the Golden State Warriors he singles handily took the Thunder to the playoffs and the later with Paul George and Carmelo Anthony for the 2016 -17 season and then just Paul George the following season.
Who is to be blamed for this. The pillars were 1st shaken when they traded a young James Harden to the Rockets where he had won the Sixth Man of the Year, but this did not affect much as they still kept winning where in later in 2016 they lost on Kevin Durant.
One of the Major setbacks here is, they were planning for a rebuild where they had already signed Mike Muscala, planning to sign Alec Burks and resigned Nerlens Noel.
Now the only notable player left with the squad is Steven Adams of the playing 5 of the team, but it’s still a question looming around. How long will he stay? Or will he support this thought of rebuilding?
Let us now see which draft picks OKC Thunder has got with the trades:
2020 draft:
Own pick (Top-20 protected or it goes to 76ers), Nuggets pick
2021 draft:
Own pick, Heat pick, pick swap with Rockets (1-4 protected)
2022 draft:
Own pick (lottery protected or it goes to Hawks), Clippers pick
2023 draft:
Own pick, Heat pick (lottery protected), pick swap with Clippers
2024 draft:
Own pick, Rockets pick (1-4 protected), Clippers pick
2025 draft:
Own pick, pick swaps with Clippers and Rockets (top-20 protected for Rockets)
2026 draft:
Own pick, Rockets pick (1-4 protected), Clippers pick
Let us see the players which they have got through these trades.
Danilo Gallinari
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Chris Paul
