Fansided

NBA Trade Deadline 2020: The 30-team mega-deal that solves nothing and makes everyone mad

By Ian Levy

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 13: Kevin Love #0 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Collin Sexton #2 high five during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on January 13, 2020 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2020 NBAE (Photo by Chris Elise/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 13: Kevin Love #0 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Collin Sexton #2 high five during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on January 13, 2020 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2020 NBAE (Photo by Chris Elise/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – JANUARY 09: Jusuf Nurkic #27 of the Portland Trail Blazers looks on during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on January 9, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – JANUARY 09: Jusuf Nurkic #27 of the Portland Trail Blazers looks on during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on January 9, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Oklahoma City Thunder

Sending out: Chris Paul (MIA), Danilo Gallinari (MEM)

Bringing in: James Johnson (MIA), Jusuf Nurkic (POR), 2028 first-round pick (HOU)

The Thunder are playing with found money. They flipped Russell Westbrook and Paul George for roughly a billion future first-round draft picks, content to take on veteran money and wait for things to turn over. Instead, they’ve somehow become a fringe playoff team building good vibes and maybe forcing themselves to reconsider their goals at the deadline. While it’s fun to enjoy the lightning strikes this year, the Thunder are clearly better off prioritizing the future.

Here, they send out their two biggest veteran pieces — Chris Paul and Danilo Gallinari — and return a different, less valuable pair of veterans, along with a first-round pick from Houston in the distant future. Johnson has a player option for next season which he’ll almost certainly pick up. Nurkic is under contract for two more years but is only partially guaranteed for the last season. Oklahoma City might like more but here they cement their stranglehold on the draft rights of the Houston Rockets for pretty much the next decade.

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