It was kind of nice to see the same Oklahoma City Thunder that toyed with the Phoenix Suns get eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs. Although quite how they are meant to stop Victor Wembanyama in future is another problem.
The Thunder looked to be a shooter short in the series, and finding one will be difficult given how expensive their current roster will be to keep together.
Grayson Allen is the shooter the Thunder need for the playoffs
Armed with all the first round picks you can imagine, not to mention a whole host of role players who far surpass anything the Suns boast, swingman Allen is the player who the Thunder should be targeting this offseason.
He's led the league in 3-point shooting before, although being injured at the wrong time as he has been would be an obvious point for the Thunder to bring up to lower the cost of acquiring him. Allen doesn't even give up too much size on the perimeter, so he fits the profile of the kind of player the Thunder look for.
If anything that nasty streak that we have seen from him in the past would be needed, with Chet Holmgren and company getting bullied by Wembanyama for large portions of the series.
Allen has two years remaining on his current deal, close to $20 million per season. That is not cheap particularly for the Thunder, and making a deal happen is not easy,
But he could be the difference between winning a playoff game for a Thunder roster that suddenly needs unsung heroes to win them games. If you're the Suns then the prospect of getting your hands on some draft picks or a young player is exciting as well.
The new NBA Draft Lottery rules are going to make landing a pick in a trade more difficult than ever for three years at least, but the Thunder have the luxury of having so many that they can afford to attach them to deals.
The Thunder also have a track record of making deals if they think it can inch them closer to a championship. The decision to give up on a young player with clear upside in Josh Giddey for the veteran Alex Caruso was ridiculed at the time, but it was one of the final steps on the way to winning it all.
Allen wouldn't have the same impact as Caruso, but he is the elite shooter who would thrive in their system. Pick up the phone Sam.
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