Mock Trade: Thunder Swap Bazley to Kings for a Pair of Picks

On Thursday, Inside the Thunder’s own Chris Becker detailed the events and circumstances leading up to Kings Insider, James Ham, reporting that he has heard whispers that a certain Thunder player might be in their crosshairs: Darius Bazley.

In his three and half seasons, Bazley has yet to live up to Oklahoma City’s high hopes and the franchise has recently acquired a plethora of talent that will need minutes, touches, and a role for developmental purposes. This makes him expendable.

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have value. 

Au contraire, the 6-foot-9 forward is only 22 years old and still has room to grow, especially on offense. In fact, he’s even been showing off some brand new passing chops in recent games.

The real draw is that he's a switchable defender. Bazley has the feet to lock up opposing guards and wings, even often blocking 3-point shots, and the size and leaping ability to contest shots around the rim, evidenced by his 4.9 block percentage and 1.5 steal percentage.

And If he can progress to convert his 3-pointers at a decent rate and limit his turnovers, he should provide some utility to coaches who want size and switchability in the form of a stretchy small-ball center who also plugs into forward spots.

Why would Sacramento target Bazley in a trade, though?

Looking at their books reveals that they have just eight players locked up through the 2023-24 season, with centers Alex Len and Chimezie Metu as well as forwards Harrison Barnes and Trey Lyles entering unrestricted free agency this summer.

Richaun Holmes’ future with the Kings is also up in the air despite signing a four-year, $46 million dollar deal in 2021. The 29-year-old center has fallen out of favor with new head coach, Mike Brown, and reportedly, has been made available for trade talks.

And If the Kings re-sign what will be a 31-year-old Barnes this offseason, which is a strong possibility considering he’s their third-leading scorer and a strong veteran presence, they would have just three front-court players locked-up for next season.

Given the Kings frontcourt situation moving forward, Bazley’s inexpensive expiring contract would give them an opportunity to round out the forward and center position for the remainder of this season, and potentially beyond, providing more youth and flexibility moving forward.

Here’s what a trade between the Thunder and Kings might look like:

Oklahoma City gets: Alex Len, 2024 unprotected second-round pick via Dallas, 2028 unprotected second-round pick via Dallas

Sacramento gets: Darius Bazley

The Thunder save a little bit of cash here - a little over $300,000 - while finding a pair of second-round picks they can stash away for later use instead of losing their former first-round pick for nothing. 

Plus, they get to move on from ‘Project: Bazley’ and at least temporarily bring in a true seven-footer to soak up minutes at center and help out rebounding efforts if needed.

They would also have the option of simply waiving Len post-trade to free up a roster spot to either leverage their traded player exceptions or shuffle through 10-day contracts in an attempt to sift through their G League prospects, if they so choose.