The Oklahoma City Thunder have come up short the past few postseasons and must figure out how to re-tool their roster in order to get back into title contention. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are not headed anywhere, so how does the team improve before next year? A couple of trades could be in the works after players like Derek Fisher and possibly Thabo Sefolosha and Kendrick Perkins leave.
According to Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders, the Thunder could be looking to become players in a trade for center Omer Asik. The Houston Rockets are currently shopping their resident big man and have been for over a year now after Dwight Howard signed in free agency. Right now, the Thunder are paying a lot of money to three players which makes additions hard to come by and trades a necessity.
A trade for Asik will cost the Thunder. Hamilton believes they would have to part with guard Reggie Jackson who became a star in the Western Conference finals and possibly Kendrick Perkins. Asik would take care of Perkins' defensive stats plus be a little more polished offensively. Asik shot 53.2 percent from the field while Perkins only went 45.1 percent.
Another trade in the works could be one for guard Iman Shumpert, a player the Thunder were interested in during the mid-season trading period. Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman believes that Shumpert could be a great asset for the Thunder in the next few years especially with uncertainty around Durant's free agency and the departure of Jackson and Derek Fisher. The Thunder can offer two first round draft picks for Shumpert and that is something the Knicks would gladly jump on.
The Thunder are also exploring backup point guard free agents to help take pressure off Westbrook, something Fisher was good at. According to Bleacherreport.com, the Thunder could take glances at several players. Mario Chalmers would be a solid and affordable grab. He can start or come off the bench and will not demand an insane amount of money. Shaun Livingston is another player that would feed well off Westbrook much like he did with Deron Williams. Nat Robinson could also be an option if healthy.