1 player Thunder must trade in 2024 NBA offseason

The Mavericks stashed their bigs on Giddey in order to protect the rim and try to take the ball out of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s hands. It worked, as that clip above illustrates. Giddey shot 18.8% from deep in this series. With him being a non-factor offensively, his minutes plummeted. After averaging 26.5 minutes per game against the Pelicans, he played just 12.7 minutes in the six games against Dallas.

The Thunder tried stashing him in the dunker spot to try to make Giddey more viable offensively, but that didn’t work out very well either. Dallas centers would be able to effectively guard two players at once without worrying about Giddey finishing at the rim.

The Thunder were -23 in the 76 minutes Giddey played in the duration of Oklahoma City’s series against Dallas. They finished that series with an even point differential. Plus-minus isn’t the most scientific stat out there and the Thunder had struggles scoring even when Giddey was off the floor. But his inability to produce anything at the beginning of this series put the Thunder in a hole they weren’t able to crawl out of.

Financial implications of re-signing Giddey

Another wrinkle regarding Oklahoma City’s situation with Giddey is his contract status. Giddey is eligible for a contract extension this summer and is poised to become a restricted free agent next summer. The Thunder don’t have many hefty contracts on their books at the moment. Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort are the only players on the team with eight-digit salary cap figures in 2026 and beyond.

They have the money to pay Giddey a solid extension, but that won’t last for long. Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren will both be eligible for extensions after next season, and both have proven to be more essential to Oklahoma City’s core than Giddey has. They will need to pay them and likely save some money for the likes of Isaiah Joe, Cason Wallace, and other future draft picks the Thunder make.

They can’t pay everybody. After this playoff run, it would make sense for Giddey to be the odd man out of this young core. For all the shortcomings with his jumper, Giddey has many positive attributes he can bring to a team. He’s an outstanding passer and playmaker, especially for his size at 6-foot-8 and 216 pounds.

But he’s best with the ball in his hands, and it’s hard to justify him carrying a high usage rate when players like Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams are around. A change of scenery would be best for him and the Thunder. It shouldn’t be a surprise if that comes into fruition during the offseason.