Category Archive 上海龙凤论坛网

It is well known that the Oklahoma City Thunder have built one of the best franchises in the entire National Basketball Association. Whether through massive trades or drafting the right pieces, the Thunder front office has shown how knowledgeable and experienced they are in their craft.

Earlier today, that same front office was recognized for their efforts and success as league executives voted the OKC front office as the best at what they do.

OKC Thunder voted with top front office in NBA
A group of 40 total NBA executives got together and voted on a variety of topics, with one such topic being what franchise had the best front office. When the tallies were all counted, it wasn’t even close.

NBA executives voted on the top front offices in the league:

1.Oklahoma City Thunderhttps://t.co/QUkI7VfggX Celticshttps://t.co/XygofsXWVB Heat
4.Memphis Grizzlies
5.Minnesota Timberwolveshttps://t.co/41QpQgeQIt York Knicks
7.Orlando Magic
8.Cleveland Cavaliers
9.Golden… pic.twitter.com/0JEIN72Ak9

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 11, 2024
With 354 total points and the next closest franchise trailing by over 100 points, it was almost a unanimous decision that Sam Presti and the Oklahoma City Thunder have the top front office in the league.

Deservingly so, of course. The Thunder were able to turn Paul George into an assortment of draft picks and players, two of which would end up being Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is seen as one of the top-five best players in the NBA, and Jalen Williams, who is one of top two-way rising stars in the association.

The Thunder were also able to draft Chet Holmgren in the 2022 NBA Draft with the second overall pick. Of course, Holmgren would go onto have a spectacular rookie season placing second in Rookie of the Year voting while also placing First Team All-Rookie in 2023 and was having an incredible sophomore campaign before his injury.

Moreover, alongside Chet during the 2023/24 season was Cason Wallace, who was selected tenth by OKC in the 2023 Draft. Due to his exceptional defense, elite shooting and great athleticism, Wallace was able to make Second Team All-Rookie and has found himself with a significant role on the best defensive team in the NBA.

MORE: Struggling 76ers may pave the way for OKC Thunder to have top lottery pick in 2025 NBA Draft.

All of that in just two drafts. The Thunder still managed to acquired Jaylin Williams, Ousmane Dieng, Ajay Mitchell and Dillon Jones over the past couple of drafts while also signing the incredible free agents of Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso in the 2024 offseason.

What the Thunder have been able to do rebuilding-wise over the past four-to-five years is absolutely insane. There are numerous teams who started to rebuild around the same time OKC did and are nowhere near as good as the Thunder.

Loud City still has a plentiful amount of draft picks over the next six years while also having a juggernaut of a team. Sam Presti has truly built a dynasty in the Sooner State.

Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported on Stein’s Substack about what would prevent the Sixers from making a trade.

“A desire to make a move or two is never lacking in Philadelphia,” they wrote. “The issue these days for 7-15 76ers is limited optionality. A December deal is highly unlikely because two of Philly’s most perceived-to-be tradable players — KJ Martin and Kelly Oubre — are ineligible to be moved until Jan. 15 since both re-signed with the Sixers at numbers north of 120% of their 2023-24 salaries.”

Martin has been brought up in trade ideas because his contract appeals to teams trying to cut a salary or two. The second year of Martin’s current contract is non-guaranteed.

Why this puts the Sixers at a disadvantage
Other unrestricted free agents who signed with their teams on December 15 are eligible to be traded. Hence, the teams who employ them have the first crack at getting their desired trade targets before the Sixers do.

At the same time, they only have a month, and there’s no telling if sellers will like what other potential partners have more than the Sixers.

The Sixers are working to get their season back on track. Their most recent stretch of games looks the most promising they’ve been all season. Getting another rotation player for the stretch run could do wonders for them.

They may have to wait a little longer than most teams will to make that happen, but it will be interesting to see if what Philadelphia has may make sellers think twice before they make any moves. Conversely, sellers may use the Sixers’ disadvantage to their advantage in trade negotiations.

The Philadelphia 76ers’ misfortune might be the stroke of luck the Lakers need. At 7-15, their season is in the dumps, and the pairing of Paul George with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey simply has not worked out. George, a nine-time All-Star, is averaging a woeful 16 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game this season while shooting 32.1% from 3-point range. The Sixers, if they’re smart, will lean into rookie Jared McCain as a franchise piece moving forward and try to rebuild around him, Maxey, and Embiid amid a potentially lost season.

Should the rumors be true about the Lakers willing to part with Austin Reaves, then Rob Pelinka can dangle some very real assets in front of the Sixers’ face. By offering D’Angelo Russell’s expiring contract, along with Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Christian Wood and a 2029 first-round pick, the money is balanced enough for the Lakers to ask for George, Ricky Council IV and Jeff Dowtin Jr. (two-way).

With Reaves as a long-term piece in the City of Brotherly Love, the Sixers can have a backcourt unit of him, Maxey and McCain, use Embiid (when healthy) at center and have a rotating cast at power forward, with Hachimura offering a defensive upgrade.

The Lakers, meanwhile, lose two ball handlers in Reaves and Russell but could use James and George in the backcourt with Davis down low, finally giving the franchise the big three it has dreamed of. The deal would slash the Lakers’ future to a degree, but if George can find his footing on his fifth team, the Lakers will surge up the standings.

Trae Young doesn’t factor into that plan (necessarily), which is why the Hawks would be willing to part ways with the three-time All-Star point guard if they can get a favorable return.

Meanwhile in Orlando, the Magic are more than staying afloat without Paolo Banchero. Orlando (17-10) was third in the East entering Wednesday, but if they could add one more star to the Banchero/Franz Wagner/Jalen Suggs core, serious contention would be within view.

Is Young the missing piece for the Magic?

Orlando could call up Atlanta and offer a package of Jonathan Isaac, Cole Anthony, and a 2030 first-round pick to get the conversation started.

Isaac is a valuable defender who would benefit the Hawks right away. Anthony would fit into the Hawks’ rotation nicely, too, especially if Young was gone.

Would this package be enough for Atlanta to bite? Young is likely to attract other, high-profile suitors like the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, so it’s not difficult to imagine Orlando being outbid.

Nonetheless, it can’t hurt the Magic to get an offer on the table. Young’s days in Atlanta are likely numbered.

Atlanta is wide open to trading Trae Young, and teams like the Orlando Magic, Golden State Warriors, and Los Angeles Lakers are sure to be interested.

But what if the Hawks went in a radical direction and engaged the Clippers in talks about two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard?

LA might be ready to move on from Kawhi, and if they could get Young in return for doing so, they’d likely give such a move deep consideration.

Young and Cody Zeller to the Clippers for Leonard works financially; it’s just a matter of both teams being okay with the swap from a basketball standpoint.

Kawhi isn’t giving the Clippers anything right now, and there’s reason to believe he won’t anytime soon. With LA in the playoff race out west, the Clippers would love to acquire a guy like Trae to come in and take them to a new level of being possible surprise contenders.

And while the Hawks could definitely get a return for Trae that is far less risky, they’re unlikely to come upon an offer with a higher ceiling than getting Kawhi Leonard.

Atlanta has the luxury of being in a soft rebuild on their side here — they can sort of afford for a Kawhi trade to turn out badly (say, he never gets healthy), because they are building something new and exciting around Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels, anyway.

On the other hand, if Leonard does return to some semblance of form, suddenly the Hawks are a team no one in the Eastern Conference wants to draw in the playoffs.

We’ve already seen how amazing the duo of James and Curry can be after the two joined forces to win a gold medal in the 2024 Olympics. With the Lakers season going sideways, could they link up again?

Here’s what would need to happen for the unthinkable to become a reality.

SN’s NBA HQ: Live NBA scores | Updated NBA standings | Full NBA schedule

LeBron James trade to Warriors
A James trade to the Bay Area is not easy to pull off for several reasons.

First, both teams are financially constrained, so there aren’t many options in terms of the salaries involved.

Second, the Warriors don’t have a ton to offer the Lakers, who could still get a great package from other teams if they ever did decide to make James available.

Third, any trade for James would likely have to include Bronny, per Lakers insider Anthony Irwin.

Lastly, James has a no-trade clause built into his contract. He’d need to want to be traded to the Warriors, and Golden State would need to retain most of its talent to keep itself an attractive destination.

With those conditions in mind, here is what a trade could look like between the two sides.

MORE: NBA teams wondering if LeBron James will be interested in trade

LeBron James
Bronny James
Cam Reddish
Jalen Hood-Schifino
MORE: Why LeBron James continues to be linked to Warriors in trade rumors

Why the Warriors would do it
We don’t have to overthink this one. If you’re a team with championship aspirations and have a chance to trade for James, you do it.

This is particularly true of the Warriors, who have been spinning the tires on a James trade for good reason. Not only is he still an amazing player, but he’s also a perfect fit in their system.

We’ve already seen in the Olympics how devastating the James-Curry pick-and-roll can be, particularly when it’s Curry setting a screen to get a smaller player switched onto James. No guard can stop James when he’s going downhill, even as he turns 40.

When teams have doubled Curry, the Warriors have thrived with Draymond Green as a playmaker in the short roll. As amazing as Green is, James would be on an entirely different level. It would be impossible to send extra help because James would shred that defensive coverage.

MORE: Potential landing spots for LeBron James amid latest trade rumors

Cam Reddish and Jalen Hood-Schifino would need to be included in this deal as salary filler. Reddish has turned into a good defender and a shaky offensive player. Hood-Schifino doesn’t look like an NBA player, but he’s still a young prospect who could theoretically improve.

Bronny probably wouldn’t play this year, but the Warriors did consider him a legitimate prospect and gave some thought to drafting him. Maybe he turns into something down the line.

Andrew Wiggins, De’Anthony Melton, Gary Payton II and Jonathan Kuminga would have to be the outgoing package to get up to James’ salary number.

The Warriors would have to give up all of their draft equity to make this type of deal work. This is everything they have. They can trade unprotected first-rounders in 2026 and 2028, along with their 2030 pick if it lands 1-20 (the Wizards already own the rights to that pick if it falls 21-30).

MORE: Why Bronny James is also mentioned in latest LeBron James trade rumors

Why the Lakers would do it
The hold-up on this deal would be the Lakers. Why would they want to trade James? Sure, they don’t look like serious contenders right now, but the same was true last year when they quickly shut down trade talks on their superstar player.

Let’s put that aside and consider if James did demand a trade or ownership had a sudden change of heart. In that case, this would be a pretty good package.

Wiggins has reverted to a solid starting wing in the league after a disastrous previous season. Payton is the type of defensive stopper Los Angeles desperately needs. Melton is out for the year and is simply expiring salary. The real prize is Kuminga.

Kuminga hasn’t been a consistent player in Golden State. He can certainly score, and his drives to the rim are special. Aside from that, it’s been mostly flashes of the shooting and defense he’d need to break out. Still, his combination of athleticism and talent doesn’t come around a lot.

Getting three rotation players would allow the Lakers to stay competitive and move gracefully into the next phase of their team, built around Anthony Davis. The three picks they’d receive in this deal would also let them trade for a superstar to replace James once one becomes available.

James’ no-trade clause might be the biggest sticking point. The stars would have to align perfectly, with James demanding to join Curry in the Bay Area. If he turned the screws, this deal could happen.