NBA Mock Trade: Thunder Bring Former Sonic Home

With the trade deadline approaching, the Thunder acquire a second-round pick to ship off Darius Bazley and bring back a former Seattle SuperSonic.

With the 2022-23 season just over the halfway mark and the trade deadline just 16 days away, front offices across the NBA will attempt to position themselves for a run in the Playoffs, or to improve the roster for next season, or just to tidy up their cap sheet.

Well, it’s no secret that Darius Bazley could potentially be on Oklahoma City’s chopping block. Approaching the end of the final year of his rookie contract, he isn’t getting much playing time right now, but it doesn’t necessarily mean he can’t help another team out.

Bazley, a New Balance intern that was drafted with the 23rd overall pick in 2019, was selected before Oklahoma City traded Paul George and Russell Westbrook, the moves that would ultimately kick start a long-term rebuild. Now, in his last year, Bazley is finding himself fighting for minutes while embracing a new role on a progressive-minded team full of up-and-coming talent.

But Bazley can still help teams out that could use a “small ball” center, or more size at the power forward position. At 6-foot-9 and almost 220 pounds, Bazley’s ability to cover ground and get in the air quickly allows him to bother perimeter and interior players alike, evidenced by his 5.5% block rate and his 1.6% steal rate. He’s a good rebounder, too, snagging almost 19% of all opponents’ misses while on the floor.

And while he’s far from a good offensive player, Bazley is shooting a career-high 35% from beyond the 3-point line — albeit on just 40 attempts — and is posting a free throw rate of 43.2%, another career-high. If a team can unlock Bazley’s ability to stretch the floor, he will have the ability to defend all over the floor, make defenses pay from beyond the arc, and be a threat to finish on the inside.

Bazley’s contract can benefit franchises projected to be above the salary cap next season. His bird rights will give those teams the opportunity to re-sign him to what is most likely a cheap and easily moveable deal.

The Milwaukee Bucks are one team that might make sense as a landing spot. They are currently about $10M above the luxury tax threshold and their center rotation moving forward consists of the slower feet of Bobby Portis and an aging Brook Lopez. Bazley could be an extremely inexpensive piece that gives the Bucks some flexibility and lineup versatility moving forward.

And the Bucks have mutually agreed, but have yet, to trade a former Thunder player on their roster: Serge Ibaka. Ibaka has played just 185 minutes across 16 games this season after failing to crack Mike Budenholzer’s rotation.

The 14-year veteran was drafted by Sam Presti with the 24th overall pick when the franchise was still the Seattle SuperSonics. Ibaka went on to become a key cog for the Thunder, swatting shots and drilling mid-range jumpers and corner threes to help them enjoy a long stretch of success in the Playoffs before being traded away to the Orlando Magic.

For the Bucks, flipping Ibaka for Bazley would raise their luxury tax bill, but also could leave their front court in a better position moving toward if things break right, and it would likely only cost them a future second round pick or pick swap.

For the Thunder, Ibaka would be welcomed home by fans and would be a great addition to the locker room, providing veteran tips and tricks to young players, but it might mean the franchise would have to send some cash to Milwaukee to offset Bazley’s larger contract.

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