Thunder reportedly trading Aaron Wiggins to Hawks for picks in deal that provides tax relief for OKC
The Oklahoma City Thunder are finalizing a trade to send Aaron Wiggins to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for two second-round picks, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.
Per the report, OKC will receive Atlanta’s 2030 selection and the least favorable between the Hawks’ and the Lakers’ second-round selections in 2032. The Hawks owned the rights to the Lakers’ 2032 pick.
Deal could save OKC more than $60M
Perhaps more importantly, the deal offers significant luxury tax relief for the Thunder. Per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the trade reduces OKC’s projected luxury tax penalty next season from $213 million to $152 million.
The Thunder have two picks (Nos. 12 and No. 17) in the first round of the upcoming draft that starts Tuesday. Those picks will come with two first-round salaries unless the Thunder consolidate them to move up or trade one of them away.
Wiggins, 27, has played his entire five-season NBA career with the Thunder. He was a valuable bench piece for OKC who stepped up to start 47 games in the last two seasons in injury relief. In 65 regular season games last season, Wiggins averaged 9.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.
But he played a reduced role in the postseason and during the prior season’s playoffs as Oklahoma City won the NBA championship.
Thunder’s depth made Wiggins expendable
Wiggins averaged 1.5 points in 5.8 minutes per game while playing in 13 of Oklahoma City’s 15 playoff games this season. Jared McCain, whom the Thunder acquired via a midseason trade from the 76ers, developed to play a more prominent role off the bench in the playoffs and projects to continue to do so next season.
The Thunder feature tremendous depth in the backcourt and appear to have prioritized luxury tax savings over retaining Wiggins on a deep bench.
For the Hawks, they acquire a potentially valuable rotation player for the relatively cheap cost of two future second-round picks. Wiggins has three years remaining on a five-year, $45 million contract that has a team option for the 2028-29 season.
