Bleacher Report: Thunder should be light buyers or stand pat for the 2023 NBA trade deadline

“Every fiber of my being wants to declare the Oklahoma City Thunder all-out buyers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has armed them with a top-10 player, Josh Giddey is evolving, Jalen Williams’ basketball intuition smacks you in the face, Kenrich Williams does a little bit of everything, Isaiah Joe is a human flamethrower, Lu Dort is finding nylon on more threes, the defense is a beautiful blend of frenetic, oft-undisciplined energy—the list goes on. And on.

And then on some more.

And did I mention the Thunder are annihilating opponents when SGA, Dort, Giddey and Kenrich Williams share the floor?

Oklahoma City has firmly planted itself inside the play-in race and remains within striking distance of a more substantive finish. There’s a chance the current ascent fades. There’s also a chance it doesn’t.

We should all endorse a more aggressive deadline approach if the Thunder were built for it. SGA, Dort, Giddey and Chet Holmgren are their four highest-paid players. None of them are going anywhere. Their fifth highest-paid player is Ousman Dieng, who is out with a fractured right wrist and someone you should keep an eye on when healthy. He makes a whopping…$4.6 million.

Limited matching salary is one issue. Roster-spot limbo is another. The Thunder project to have one open slot this summer, which they will fill with their own first-round pick or the Clippers’ selection. They’re unlikely to complicate that situation—especially with so many additional firsts coming their way after this year.

Sign me up for a “light buy” anyway. The Thunder could use more shooting. They’re second in three-point accuracy since the start of January, but even if that’s sustainable, they need a higher-volume sniper. Dangling Darius Bazley’s expiring contract alongside some lower-level assets should be enough to get them a marksman flier (Garrison Mathews? P.J. Washington?).”