Trade Deadline Tracker: Thunder Swaps Draft Capital with Mavericks
Although it was quiet leading up to Thursday's trade deadline, deals picked up quickly this morning. Several significant deals occurred before 10:00 a.m. CT, including one by the Oklahoma City Thunder to kick deadline day off.
This tracker will keep you up-to-date on all of the official trades made by Oklahoma City.
Thunder Acquires Gordon Hayward
Again, the Thunder made a splash on Thursday morning by acquiring veteran Gordon Hayward from the Charlotte Hornets. To bring the 33-year-old in, Oklahoma City sent out Tre Mann along with Davis Bertans for salary matching purposes. It was later reported that Vasilije Micic and two future second-round picks were also included in the deal.
Making north of $30 million this season, Hayward will become an unrestricted free agent this summer. This is another win for OKC, as that's a significant amount of expiring money. Although he's often injured, a healthy Hayward will likely become a top-six rotation player on this team.
Swapping Draft Capital with Dallas
With the Dallas Mavericks needing draft capital to facilitate a Daniel Gafford deal with the Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City stepped in to help. Given how many first-round picks the Thunder has in June's draft, the team opted to swap a 2024 first rounder for a 2028 first-round swap. This is a solid deal, especially given the 2024 first-round pick sent out is projected to be in the late twenties, while the 2028 option could be a better selection.
Overall, it was a successful deadline for the Thunder. Two roster spots were opened, while Presti was also able to delay draft capital conveying and also add a quality veteran in Hayward.
Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
