Latest Trade Buzz on Ben Simmons, Bradley Beal And...Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? | Bleacher Report
And the next All-Star-caliber player team personnel currently eye as available: Oklahoma City point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who's suddenly eligible to sign a projected five-year, $168 million rookie scale extension this summer. It would appear, however, any interested team would need to meet the Thunder's significant asking price. "It's going to take a f--king lot to get him, but he's no longer impossible to get," said one team executive.
That would present a categorical change in the Thunder's approach to Gilgeous-Alexander from ahead of the 2020 draft last August, sources said, when all four teams selecting within the first four picks contacted OKC about the 23-year-old and were quickly rebuffed by Thunder officials.
Flashing forward to this summer, where Oklahoma City proactively called Detroit to offer Gilgeous-Alexander plus the No. 6 pick for No. 1, sources said, in an attempt to land Cade Cunningham—the framework B/R's Jonathan Wasserman first alluded to on Monday. Since drawing the top selection in June, Detroit has consistently messaged to rival teams it would need a first in this year's draft, future draft ammo and an established young star.
There's still a strong expectation that OKC will search for avenues to move up in the first round, with a swap centered on the Thunder sending pick Nos. 16 and 18 to Charlotte for No. 11 as a deal structure to monitor, sources said. There's a sense among team officials that Oklahoma City and Toronto are exploring options on swapping the No. 4 and No. 6 picks as well.
And the next All-Star-caliber player team personnel currently eye as available: Oklahoma City point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who's suddenly eligible to sign a projected five-year, $168 million rookie scale extension this summer. It would appear, however, any interested team would need to meet the Thunder's significant asking price. "It's going to take a f--king lot to get him, but he's no longer impossible to get," said one team executive.
That would present a categorical change in the Thunder's approach to Gilgeous-Alexander from ahead of the 2020 draft last August, sources said, when all four teams selecting within the first four picks contacted OKC about the 23-year-old and were quickly rebuffed by Thunder officials.
Flashing forward to this summer, where Oklahoma City proactively called Detroit to offer Gilgeous-Alexander plus the No. 6 pick for No. 1, sources said, in an attempt to land Cade Cunningham—the framework B/R's Jonathan Wasserman first alluded to on Monday. Since drawing the top selection in June, Detroit has consistently messaged to rival teams it would need a first in this year's draft, future draft ammo and an established young star.
There's still a strong expectation that OKC will search for avenues to move up in the first round, with a swap centered on the Thunder sending pick Nos. 16 and 18 to Charlotte for No. 11 as a deal structure to monitor, sources said. There's a sense among team officials that Oklahoma City and Toronto are exploring options on swapping the No. 4 and No. 6 picks as well.
