Should the Thunder make a play for Giannis Antetokounmpo in an attempt to Wemby-proof their future?
Heading home tied 2-2 in the Western Conference finals, the odds still favor the Oklahoma City Thunder getting through this series and winning their second consecutive NBA title.
But the most interesting part of what has happened through four games against the San Antonio Spurs isn’t merely about a series that now hangs in the balance and a psychological edge that has now shifted after the Spurs rolled to a 103-82 victory in Game 4. It’s not even about this series, per se.
If you’re Oklahoma City vice president and general manager Sam Presti and you have watched San Antonio make up this much ground this quickly, measured the trajectory of Victor Wembanyama and the young core around him, and projected what this rivalry is going to look like over the next five years, an obvious question emerges:
Do the Thunder need to make a play for Giannis Antetokounmpo?
For all 29 teams in the NBA, it is now abundantly clear The Wemby Factor is going to, on some level, influence the way they build their teams for the foreseeable future. Some organizations could look at this series and conclude that trading significant assets to go all-in right now is a losing bet. For those who are on the cusp of contention, any such move for a superstar player must consider whether it will make a difference in a playoff series against Wembanyama.
That’s how impactful these Western Conference finals should be viewed in the arc of NBA history. The Wembanyama Spurs are no longer a far-off theory that could one day win a championship. Even if they don’t quite get it done this year, the conversation going forward starts with the Spurs. They are here.
And it leaves Oklahoma City in a fascinating place.
Play 2026 Soccer Pick 'Em with FOX One and make your picks for the world's biggest soccer tournament
Let’s say the Thunder manage to get by this series in six or seven games and beat the New York Knicks to win their second straight title. With their young core locked in, plus the treasure trove of first-round draft picks and swaps Presti has accumulated through previous trades, we should be talking dynasty.
Instead, Oklahoma City probably wouldn’t even enter 2026-27 as the favorite to win the title.
If that’s the case, Presti has a unique situation on his hands: Stay the course with a championship-caliber team that is probably going to get lapped, or fundamentally change a team that could be coming off back-to-back titles?
It’s an unprecedented, gut-wrenching call. But there is one player available who could make it worthwhile.
While much of the NBA zeitgeist has focused on Boston, Miami, Golden State and Houston as possible trade destinations for Antetokounmpo, does putting him into the Thunder lineup stem the Wemby tide for the next five years?
If Presti and Thunder management believe it would, that’s the move they should explore. It may be the only move they can make.
Under the NBA’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the future for the Thunder is clear. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander locked into a max deal until through 2031, and new deals kicking in next year for Jalen Williams (five years, $287 million) and Chet Holmgren (five years, $239 million), there will be precious little room to maneuver going forward. That doesn’t even include players who will soon command raises like Jared McCain, Ajay Mitchell and Cason Wallace.
The bottom line is Oklahoma City will not be able to keep this team together, in its current form, under the current CBA. Whether it’s moving off one of its huge contracts or gutting its bench, something’s got to give.
The conventional wisdom has been that the Thunder’s bevy of picks — they’ll likely have five first-rounders over the next two drafts, plus a potentially valuable 2028 swap with Dallas — will allow them to turn over the roster and replace some veteran role players with rookie-scale salaries.
But within the context of what we’ve seen in the Western Conference finals, are we sure that’s the way to go? At this point, Oklahoma City should only be thinking about how to maximize the next five years of Gilgeous-Alexander’s prime. Is the best way to compete with San Antonio during that window through a bunch of draft picks and nibbling around the edges or by countering Wemby with an Antetokounmpo-Holmgren frontcourt?
Oklahoma City at least has to think about it.
The conventional wisdom around the NBA is that by waiting so long to finally entertain Antetokounmpo trades, Milwaukee has probably missed its chance to get maximum value. But if the Thunder offered Williams, another young piece and their prime draft picks over the next two years, it would probably be difficult for any other suitors to cobble together a more compelling package.
Would it be a risk? Of course. Antetokounmpo is 31, has started to compile some injuries and has a player option in 2027-28 that he will probably decline in search of a long-term deal. And it wouldn’t solve the Thunder’s fundamental problem under the current CBA, which is simply how restrictive it gets to carry three max contracts.
But even if Oklahoma City emerges from this series, it will do so as a battle-scarred team that may be living on borrowed time as the Wemby era rises. Luckily for the Thunder, they’re one of the few teams that has the ammunition to pull off a mega-trade for Antetokounmpo without gutting its roster.
Even if Oklahoma City wins another championship, we may well look back on this season as a turning point in NBA history, when the team Presti so brilliantly built no longer seems good enough to keep pace with the next dynasty.
If Antetokounmpo is what’s necessary for Oklahoma City to remain competitive with the Spurs in the near future, Presti should do everything possible to make it a reality.
